Don't Say Yes
by fortheloveofericnorthman
Summary: Sookie & her high school sweetheart ended their relationship when they went off to college, but how will she react when she stumbles upon some upsetting news?  Will she speak now?  AU/AH/OOC Rated M:language/ future lemons
1. Chapter 1

Don't Say Yes

AU/ AH/ OOC

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: They aren't mine, but I do love putting them in interesting predicaments. They belong to the lovely and talented Charlaine Harris.

It's been four years; four long years since I've seen or heard from him. He was my best friend, my first boyfriend, my first kiss, my first love; he was my everything. We met during our freshman year in high school. We sat right next to each other in World History. He was this awkward gangly blonde kid and I was just as awkward with my huge boobs and unnaturally curvy body for a fourteen year old girl. We were a match made in pubescent hell.

I'll never forget the first day I saw him. He was gorgeous to me even then, but it was much more than his outward appearance. He looked over and gave me a shy smile. It was almost like he was afraid to talk to me (which is laughable knowing what I do today). He was so unsure of himself; just as insecure as I was. I found his timid behavior quite refreshing. I'd been on a few innocent movie dates only to discover that every single guy in the school was trying to get to second base with me. I found it odd that so many of my male classmates asked me out as soon as 'the girls' arrived. It became some kind of unsaid competition. What is it about guys and boobs? I'll never understand it. I swear he was the first guy in years to talk to my eyes and not to my chest.

We compared our schedules and discovered we had the same lunch period. Neither one of us really knew anyone else so we agreed to meet for lunch every day. That was the beginning of our friendship, which eventually led to our relationship. In four years we never missed a lunch together.

Eventually, we grew into ourselves and both became quite popular. He started running with the football players and with my history in gymnastics, I decided to try-out for the cheerleading squad. By the time our junior year came around he was the star quarterback in our little town and I was the head cheerleader. We were quite the sight to behold with our matching blonde hair and bright blue eyes. When we walked through the halls it was like a scene out of all of those stupid cliché high school movies; the crowd would part as we walked hand-in-hand; the masses would stare and whisper. We were like small town celebrities; the quintessential high school couple, always together. As upperclassmen we were the queen and king of homecoming and prom. We were supposed to get married, have babies and raise them in our little town. We were supposed to live happily ever after.

My Gran had our entire wedding planned by the time spring semester of our senior year rolled around. It was going to be the biggest event our town had ever seen. We didn't have a dollar to our name, but when I turned 18 I was to receive the inheritance from my parents. They died when I was seven and my older brother was nine, but they left us both enough money to pay for college or for my wedding. Being old-fashioned, Gran didn't really see the need for me to pursue any education past high school. I was raised to be a wife and a mother. The only degree she thought I needed was an 'MRS' and I was going to earn my 'MRS' as soon as I was handed my high school diploma.

Being a strong-willed southern girl, I had other plans. I was going to use my inheritance to go to college. I had plenty of time to get married and make babies. I applied to as many schools as I could, but I could really only afford in-state tuition. When I received my acceptance to LSU, I was thrilled, but I knew what this meant for us. I wasn't stupid or naive. Gran thought I was a fool and she told me as much, but she also understood my desire to do more with my life.

After graduation everything changed as I knew it would. Our perfect little world fell apart so fast neither of us could stop it. He had a full scholarship to play football at the University of Florida and I had an academic scholarship to Louisiana State University. We were going to be hours apart and we knew that trying to stay together was going to be difficult. Instead of allowing our relationship to end badly, we decided to just make a clean break at the end of the summer. It was not a decision either one of us wanted to make, but we knew it was the right thing to do.

We said our tearful goodbyes and agreed to keep in contact as much as we could. Unfortunately, playing college football doesn't allow for any extra 'call your ex-girlfriend time' and after a few months we stopped communicating completely. I never stopped thinking about him though. I'd send Christmas cards to his family every year and I never forgot his Birthday. Ever. I never stopped loving him either. I was pathetic; I was a shell of myself. I pretty much stopped living.

One day my roommate, Amelia, came home from class and decided she'd had enough of my moping around. She threw some trashy club clothes at me and informed me we were going out. Amelia was the exact opposite of me in every way, but that's why I loved her so much. She was from New Orleans and the daughter of Louisiana state senator, Copley Carmichael. They did not get along so she was pretty much parent-less like me. She's about my height with chestnut hair and bright blue eyes and she had a great tan. I knew that if we didn't have anything else in common at least we both enjoyed the sun.

Hitting the clubs was the last thing I wanted to do, but I agreed because she was one hard-headed determined bitch and I knew she wouldn't give up until she got her way. So, I tossed on some skin tight pants and some skanky low cut top that was entirely too small for me. Amelia enjoyed displaying my 'boobage,' as she called it, because she wasn't as 'blessed' as I was. She made me wear her tops more often than I'd like to admit just to see how she would look with fake boobs. She was insane, but she was my best friend so I put up with her crazy antics.

A few songs and one too many drinks later I found myself up on a bar in Baton Rouge rockin' it like nobody's business. I couldn't sing for shit, but I knew how to move. One of the few perks of being an ex-cheerleader was that I knew how to shake it and I was really quite flexible. If my future career as a photojournalist didn't work out, I could probably get a job at a strip club. I had the attention of every man in the bar and it felt great. I actually felt like myself for the first time in months.

As I scanned the room, one pair of eyes caught my attention. They belonged to a dark haired, dark eyed man. I beckoned for him to come up to the bar and as he approached I realized just how attractive he was. He was the complete opposite of my ex and that was even better. I didn't need anything to remind me of him. Dreaming about him every night was all the reminder I needed.

He was a smooth talking southerner by the name of Bill Compton. He helped me down from the bar and bought Amelia and I both a round of drinks. After that night we were inseparable. It didn't take me long to fall completely in love with him. I'm a hopeless romantic, which will probably be my downfall, so sue me.

We had an entirely different relationship; it was mature, drama-free, and predictable. We went to class, studied, ate dinner together, had sex, and then fell asleep in each other's arms. It was comfortable; completely boring but comfortable. The sex was good, but it hardly compared to sex with the ex. After our first time, I knew in my heart that no one would ever compare to him. No one. He knew my body; he knew how to elicit a moan from me with a simple touch. We were young and reckless; and we'd tried it all without inhibitions. No matter how difficult our relationship was at times, the sex was always something that reconnected us. And when all else failed, we had our friendship; the friendship that had started it all.

I hated that I constantly compared Bill to him, but I couldn't help it. The worst part was remembering who I was having sex with in the heat of the moment. There were so many times his name formed on my lips, but I always managed to stop myself in the nick of time.

None of this was fair to Bill, and what made it worse was the he didn't even know. I hoped he would never find out. I hoped that we could go on with our happy little lie, I mean life. Hell, Amelia didn't even know about him. She knew that my former high school sweetheart was hours away from me and that we decided on an amicable break-up, but she didn't know how tightly we were bound. Most people assumed that our silly little relationship was nothing more than two horny teenagers with high school crushes, but it surpassed a long time ago.

Bill and I dated off and on for the next three years. Gran and Amelia loved him and parts of me did too. Unfortunately, he never really had all of me. A portion of my heart would always be with the one that got away. Always. For this reason, I knew it was wrong to accept Bill's proposal of marriage, but it was the next step and I didn't want to lose him. If I said no, it would have ended our three year relationship and I couldn't deal with the heartache again. I wasn't strong enough to survive it a second time.

One weekend right before graduation, Amelia and I were home from LSU visiting Gran. We came up to Bon Temps to get some of the wedding plans taken care of. Bill and I were getting married the following May. I'm a warm weather girl and I wanted our wedding to be at the old farmhouse I grew up in. This made for a longer engagement, but we both wanted to get our careers started before we got married.

Bill and I had both found jobs in Baton Rouge. He'd found a job as a computer programmer for an up and coming business and I got a job with the _Baton Rouge Advocate_. He already had an apartment there, and I was to move in with him once we got married. Amelia was fine with me living with her until we got married and I wasn't in a huge hurry to leave my best bud, so everything was perfect. Or at least it should have been.

As soon as Amelia and I pulled into the driveway a sense of dread washed over me; Gran was sitting on the front porch with the Saturday paper in her hand shaking her head. I was sure she was reading the obituaries and I immediately started picking through my brain to see who we knew that could have died. Maybe it was one of Gran's old lady friends from church that she played bridge with every Sunday.

"Sookie, Amelia dear, it's so good to see you. Let's go inside. I made you a pecan pie." If Gran baked me a pie this was definitely not good news. Not at all.

"Gran, I know you've got news for me. Please just tell me. Who died?" She didn't say a word, she just walked over to the counter with that same piece of newspaper tucked under her arm and cut three pieces of pie. She topped the pie with ice cream and then joined us at the table. Once we were all seated, she reached over and patted my hand. She was officially scaring me to death.

"No one died dear one. It's nothing like that. But, I have a feeling this will not be welcome news." My heart began racing and suddenly the pecan pie was making me nauseous. Amelia hadn't said a word since we'd arrived and that wasn't helping. I needed my obnoxious friend to blurt out a few profanities and make me laugh. But, no one was laughing.

"You're officially scaring me… just let me have it. What's in that paper, Gran?"

She slid the folded newspaper across the table and that's when I saw it. I couldn't take a single breath; I was suffocating and gasping for air. This was not what I was expecting. It was _his_ wedding announcement. He was getting married. He was over me. It was really over. We were really over. The picture of them made me want to puke. She was a beautiful, thin, redhead with brilliant green eyes and a perfect smile. And, he looked better than ever. His hair was much shorter than I remember, but his eyes, those sapphire blue eyes were the same.

The article was like a train wreck; I wanted to, but I just couldn't look away. As I read the announcement the bile rose in my throat.

_Sophie Anne Leclerq & Eric Alexander Northman_

_Mr. and Mrs. Andre Maxwell Leclerq of Jacksonville, Florida, announce the engagement of their daughter Sophie Anne Leclerq to Eric Alexander Northman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Stellan Alexander Northman of Bon Temps, Louisiana. _

_Sophie Anne is a graduate of the University of Florida, where she received a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism. She is employed by Leclerq Broadcasting where she works as a reporter covering all major college football events around the southeast. _

_Mr. Northman will graduate from The University of Florida this May with a degree in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine. He is the former star quarterback of the Gators. He decided against entering the NFL draft earlier this winter to spend time with his new bride. It is highly anticipated that he will become a free agent and eventually pursue his pro-football career._

_The happy couple will wed this June in a private ceremony in Mr. Northman's home town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. _

I don't know how long I sat there, but it was long enough for the ice cream on my pie to melt. When I finally looked up, Gran and Amelia were staring at me. Neither one of them had spoken for quite some time. I had to assume that Amelia knew what was going on, because her face displayed a new emotion: pity. She always looked sad for me when I fell into one of my slumps, but she'd never pitied me. Somehow I finally found the words to speak again.

"It's okay. I'm okay. This is okay. I'm getting married. He's getting married. It's okay." Amelia scooted her chair closer to me laid her head on my shoulder. When she started rubbing my back that's when I lost it.

"It's NOT okay. This is NOT okay. He's mine. He was supposed to marry me; he _is _supposed to marry me. I can't marry Bill. This is wrong. All of this is wrong." I was now a sobbing, hysterical mess. Amelia was wrapped around me so tightly that if my heart hadn't hurt so much, I'm sure I would have felt the physical pain of her embrace.

Somehow I ended up in my childhood bed and when I looked around he was everywhere. My room was just as I'd left it all those years ago. My crowns and sashes I wore as his queen were neatly displayed on my bookshelf. My yearbooks filled with our memories sat neatly on my desk. My jewelry box containing every single letter he'd ever written me was on my dresser.

I was in the center of my bed with Amelia on one side and Gran on the other; we were all crying. If I hadn't been such a disaster I might have laughed at the ridiculousness of our situation. We must have looked like one of those stupid _Lifetime_ movies I was so fond of.

After I'd cried my eyes out, I finally sat up and turned around to face my bookends that had kept me grounded for god knows how long. I had a sudden moment of clarity.

"Speak now or forever hold your peace."

They both sat up and looked at me and I'm sure we all had the same wicked gleam in our eyes. He wouldn't marry her and I wouldn't marry Bill. I was going to get him back.


	2. Chapter 2

Don't Say Yes

AU/ AH/ OOC

Chapter 2

EPOV

I'll never forget the way she looked at me on our very first day of high school; her beautiful wavy blonde hair framing her beautiful face and radiant blue eyes. She was way out of my league. I was a skinny, lanky, goofy looking kid with shoulder length blonde hair. I was trying to achieve the Kurt Cobain look, but failed miserably. I was told more often than not that I was 'way too pretty' to pull off the grunge look. But that didn't stop me from trying. I always resented being called 'pretty.' What grown man wants to be told they're pretty? I sure as hell didn't.

It wasn't just her looks though. Yes, she had a banging body, but she was more than a great rack, and they were great; they were the best I'd ever see. No one would ever compare. She was the nicest girl in our entire school; she was the girl that everyone tried to hate, but couldn't. Every girl wanted to be her and every guy wanted to nail her, and for some reason she chose me.

We were everything to each other for four solid years. We were the most popular couple in the entire school. I was the star quarterback, and for a small town like Bon Temps, that meant instant celebrity. She was my trophy, my most prized possession and together we were unstoppable. She was my cheerleader, both literally and figuratively, and she never missed one of my games. She was my rock, my confidant, and my best friend.

Our relationship actually began as a simple friendship, but quickly developed into much, much more. I'll never forget the day it happened for as long as I live. It was about a month into our freshman year and we'd just gotten home from practice; Gran fixed dinner for us on the days we both had practice so we would get the "proper nutrition." She had on those tiny little shorts that displayed her perfectly tanned legs and a racer-back tank that barely contained those gorgeous breasts. We were up in her bedroom studying, sitting next to each other on the bed, when something unprecedented happened. As I reached across the bed to grab my book, my hand grazed her right boob ever so slightly. When I looked down I could see her nipples were hard through the fabric of her sports bra. Our eyes met and we both had the same unmistakable lust-filled expression on our faces. I was instantly aware that my mesh shorts were doing nothing to contain my raging hard-on. I decided it was now or never so I leaned in and kissed her for the very first time.

That one innocent kiss was the means to an end of our platonic relationship. We went from kissing to heavy petting to fucking, like the two horny teenagers we were, in a matter of months. It was one wild ride that I never tired of; I was insatiable for her. Our favorite time together was right after church on Sundays when Gran would go to her bible study. We had the entire house to ourselves and we had an unsaid room rotation. We had sex on every horizontal surface in that entire house and when we got bored with the horizontal, we discovered the vertical.

We were perfect for each other. She was the calm one and I was crazy one. She was the one that kept us grounded and kept my head from getting too big. We were so alike, but just different enough to not drive the other insane.

The only issue we ever had was my bitch of a mother, Mrs. Elena Solveig Northman. She never liked Sookie, although Sookie never knew it. If it wasn't for my father, our relationship would have ended before it began. My mother is the most pretentious woman I've ever met. Her family comes from old Swedish money and she thinks that gives her the right to treat other people like shit. I never understood why my father married her, but if I had to guess, it wasn't his choice. He was thrilled that I'd met Sookie and that we were truly in love. My parents were in a loveless marriage; they simply tolerated each other's presence. Pathetic.

Mother was always so fake when Sookie was around and it made my skin crawl. I never told Sookie how my mother felt about her; I knew it would have devastated her. I allowed her to think that they were the best of friends. She would take her shopping for prom dresses and help her pick out all of the necessary accessories. If she only knew it was because my mother wouldn't have her son photographed with a girl wearing something off the rack; god, it would have destroyed her. I knew that Gran saw through the façade though; Sookie was too good to ever see people for what they really were. She thought that my mother's gifts were out of kindness. The entire situation made my stomach turn.

I wasn't at all surprised by my mother's enthusiasm when The University of Florida called offering a full football scholarship. She knew that Sookie had already been accepted to LSU and that meant we would be hours away from each other. Despite my father's best efforts to displease my mother, she'd finally gotten her way. I would be hundreds of miles away from the love of my life for at least four years. Five if I was red-shirted as a freshman.

We spent our last summer together doing the things we had done every summer since our freshman year. We tried to pretend like it wasn't all coming to a devastating end in August, but our heartache was present in everything we did. Every time I held her on her porch swing, every time we kissed, or had sex in the back of my car, I found myself holding her a little tighter and lingering a little longer.

We made the mature decision to end our relationship amicably, because we'd spent our entire high school careers together. We both had a lot of growing up to do and we'd either grow together or grow apart. Sookie said something about "If you love someone you have to let them go, and if they return to you then it's meant to be." Some stupid Mariah Carey bullshit, I think. Don't quote me though.

Our last day together we vowed to stay in touch, but we both knew it would be next to impossible with the upcoming college football season. I was the starting quarterback for the number five team in the entire country; I wouldn't have time for a relationship. We said our tearful goodbyes in her driveway and went our separate ways.

My last memory of her will be forever imprinted in my mind. She was standing there in my favorite little white sundress, her hair down and blowing with the slight summer breeze; I watched as her eyes filled with tears and her tiny body collapsed to the ground before Gran ran out to scoop her up and carry her back inside. I wanted to stop the car, run to her and hold her, but I knew that prolonging the inevitable would only make it harder on both of us.

My first two weeks at UF were really difficult; practice was exhausting and I missed Sookie like crazy. All of my successes on the field meant nothing because I couldn't share them with her. We played phone tag for a solid week before we ever actually spoke. The conversation was awkward and her tone was indifferent. I could tell that she didn't really want to talk to me. I told her I loved her at the end of the call as I always had and she said it back, but there was something missing in her delivery. I didn't call her again after that. I figured she didn't want to talk to me, so I stopped calling. If she wanted to call me, she could. Maybe she'd already moved on. Maybe college gave her the easy out she was looking for. But, none of that made any sense. I knew her; she loved me, and she would've told me if she'd wanted out.

I put all of my anger, frustration, and sadness into the game I'd loved my entire life. I continued to impress my coaches and my teammates with my dedication and hard work. Not only had I been promised the coveted starting position, but now I felt like I'd really earned it.

I went home for Christmas every year, but never heard from Sookie. If she wanted to see me, she knew where to find me. I was shocked that I didn't even receive a card from her though. She had this silly tradition of having her picture made with Santa every year and then turning it into a Christmas card. Every year she dragged me to the mall in her most ridiculous Christmas sweater with her list in her hand. She'd sit in Santa's lap and tell him what she wanted for Christmas and then she'd have her picture taken. It was absolutely ridiculous, but also purely Sookie. My parents received one every year we were together and I was angry that she didn't even have the decency to continue the tradition in spite of our current situation. I began to question if I ever really knew her at all. How could she just totally abandon me after all of our years together?

My father tried to talk me into visiting her, but I refused. I'd had enough of this stupid mind fuck and I was ready to move on. I was no longer the shy goofy kid she'd met all those year ago. I was _the_ star of the Gators and I could sleep with any girl I wanted, so that's just what I did. I went back to Florida and took full advantage of my good looks and high profile name. I established quite the reputation around campus and I was proud of it. My cell phone was like a olodex of booty calls. All I had to do was pick a letter of the alphabet and make the call.

I thought I'd fucked my way through every eligible bachelorette in the city of Gainesville, when I ran into this saucy little red-head by the name of Sophie Anne Leclerq. She was the exact opposite of Sookie in every way and she was exactly what I needed. She was not sweet, she was not innocent, but she was quite the socialite. She was everything my mother wanted for me and then some. Her father, Andre Leclerq was the owner of Leclerq Broadcasting, a big name in college sports and Sophie was his star reporter. She was already out of school working as a broadcast journalist when we met.

I met Sophie at the beginning of my junior year at UF and pursued her relentlessly for months. She loved playing hard to get and that only made me want her more. When I brought her home to meet my parents, my mother was beaming with pride, but my father was less than impressed. He pulled me aside and asked me if I'd talked to Sookie lately. I let him have it and told him to never mention her name again. I was done with her, completely done. I'd moved on and I was happy.

When I came home for a brief visit the summer before my senior year, my mother sat me down and gave me my grandmother's four carat blue diamond ring. She told me to ask Sophie Anne to marry me. I told her I'd think about it, but unfortunately, the decision was accidentally made for me.

One night after coming home from practice, I saw Sophie sitting on my bed in my favorite emerald green lingerie set holding my grandmother's ring. She said "yes" before I even posed the question. I was too dumbfounded to respond and I didn't want to hurt her so I just went along with it. Stupid, I know.

Seeing that ring on her tiny, perfectly manicured finger made me think of Sookie. I always thought that ring would be hers. It was supposed to be hers. It was all I could do to not rip the damn thing off of her hand, but that wouldn't be the right thing to do to your fiancé, would it? Just saying fiancé repulsed me. There was only one girl who deserved that title and her name was Sookie Elizabeth Stackhouse.

Sophie was on the phone with our parents before I could get a word in edgewise. The next thing I knew our names and faces were on the cover of every major paper in the state of Florida and I knew it would only be a matter of time before my mother had an announcement in our local paper.

Once again, I thought of Sookie. I was suddenly disgusted with myself. I recalled that fateful day when I left her crying on her front lawn. What would my engagement do to her? Did she even care? If we hadn't gone our separate ways, we would be married right now? We were going to get married right out of high school. We were going to live in an apartment on campus and spend our college days together. But it was too late now. I was engaged to Sophie Anne Leclerq, soon to be Northman, and the free world knew it.


	3. Chapter 3

Don't Say Yes

AU/ AH/ OOC

Chapter 3

SPOV

Amelia and I left Gran's early Sunday morning to head back to Baton Rouge. I had quite a few things to take care of and time was of the essence. Eric and Sophie Anne were getting married in June, which meant I had a little over a month to come up with a solid plan and get the ball rolling.

After my declaration last night, Gran, Amelia and I all agreed that step one was to break up with Bill. This wasn't fair to him; he was a good man, a boring man, but a good man and he didn't deserve this. He deserved someone who would love him completely and I wasn't that person. Even if things didn't work out with Eric, I couldn't still be with Bill. I knew this was going to be completely unexpected, but the sooner the better; I needed to rip off the proverbial band-aid.

I called Bill as soon as we got on the highway and asked him to meet me at the Starbucks on campus around 4 pm. This would give me enough time to get to our apartment and get my head on straight. I could tell he was a little concerned, but I wasn't giving anything away over the phone. I was determined to do the mature thing and end this in person; it was the least I could do.

As soon as Amelia and I got unpacked and comfortable, we each grabbed a can of our favorite flavor of Pringles and sat together on the futon to plan out phase one.

"So Sookie, what's the plan?" Amelia asked as she put the first chip in her mouth. We were known to finish one can of Pringles a piece during stressful conversations. This might end up being a two can per girl kind of afternoon.

"Umm…honesty?"

"Honesty is best, but does Bill even know about Eric?"

"Other than the fact that he holds the record for the most wins by a quarterback in SEC history? Nope."

"Okay. Wow. Well, you've got a lot of ground to cover, girl."

"Yeah thanks, I know. So, do I start this little conversation with 'I can't marry you because I'm in love with someone else' or do I opt for the old "this isn't working for me" excuse?"

"Shit Sookie. What _are _you going to say to him?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out Ames, and we better do it fast. I'm meeting him in an hour."

"Okay, well… he does know that you have an ex right? I mean he knows that there was someone before him?"

"Yes, he knows that. He knows that I've only slept with him and one other person." I was already halfway through my can. I could feel my thighs expanding with each additional chip. If I was going to barge in on Eric's wedding this chip thing was going to have to stop. I set my can down and decided that I'd held my last Pringle until June.

"Well then, that's where you start. He needs to know the history or he's never going to accept that you could possibly be in love with someone else, Sookie. I say you start there and then just go with what feels right. Lay it all out there."

"This is going to be so hard. I never meant to hurt him. I don't want to do this to him. This sucks." Amelia reached over and gave my hand a squeeze.

"And you'll tell him that too. It's not that you don't love him or never did, but he deserves your entire heart, not just a portion of it."

"When did you get so smart?"

"I'm not sure, but you better go get ready. I know you don't want to break-up with Bill in ratty sweats and a day old ponytail."

I gave Amelia a huge hug and ran off to shower. I was about to feel like a giant piece of shit and looking like one wasn't going to make this any better. I wore my hair down and decided this was a lip-gloss only kind of day; I knew I was about to do a lot of crying and I didn't want to walk across campus with mascara streaks running down my face. I threw on my favorite LSU t-shirt, a pair of denim shorts and flip flops. I put Bill's engagement ring back on and instantly started feeling nauseous. I gave myself a long, hard look in the mirror, took a deep breath and headed out of our apartment.

As soon as I saw Bill sitting outside of Starbucks with my favorite vanilla bean frappuccino my heart starting racing. I had to fight the overwhelming urge to run back to the apartment and hide. I focused on Eric and decided that no matter what the outcome was, I had to know if he still loved me, and in order to know, I had to end this with Bill.

He stood up to greet me with our usual chaste peck, but I turned my face and he caught my cheek instead. He immediately sat back down and motioned for me to sit across from him. The gig was up, and it was now or never.

"Bill, we need to talk." His face fell as soon as I uttered those four little words. God, I was a piece of shit.

"Sookie, please…"

"No, I need to tell you something and I need to get it out now, or I'm afraid I never will." Now he just looked pissed.

"Did you cheat on me? Please tell me you didn't cheat on me."

"Hell no, nothing like that." He gave me a half smile and nodded for me to continue.

"Do you remember me telling you about my ex-boyfriend from high school?" He just nodded and furrowed his brow.

"Well, he's getting married." Brow furrowing tighter.

"Sookie, would you please hurry this along."

"Of course. When Amelia and I went home to see Gran, I found out he was getting married and I realized that…that I still love him and probably always will. I can't do this to you. You deserve better. You deserve someone who will love you with their entire heart and that person is not me. I'm sorry Bill… I'm so, so sorry, but I can't marry you."

I took his ring off and slid it across the table to him. He took it from me and roughly grabbed my left hand to shove the ring back on.

"I won't accept this Sookie. I can't accept this. I love you. I want to marry you. We can work through this."

I jerked my hand out of his and took the ring off again. It felt like we were playing a game of tug-of-war with my hand.

"You still want to marry me knowing that I'm in love with someone else?"

"Does he love you, Sookie? He's getting married. He's obviously moved on and I think you should too."

"That's what I'm going to find out, but I… I needed to break-up with you first. It was the right thing to do."

He yelled, "The right!" and then quickly lowered his voice. I'd never heard Bill raise his voice, ever. This wasn't going well. "The right thing to do? Sookie, you're ending our three year relationship because the ex-boyfriend you haven't seen in years is getting married? Do you have any idea how ridiculous this all is?"

"I know it may seem ridiculous to you, Bill. I don't expect you to understand, but I have to do this. I have to do this for me. I'm sorry."

"You're right, I don't understand and I think you're making the biggest mistake of your life. If that son of a bitch turns you down, you know where to find me."

With that, Bill got up, slid the ring back across the table to me and left Starbucks. I let out a breath I didn't realized I'd been holding and carefully put the ring in one of the inner pockets of my purse. That actually went better than I'd expected. He still wanted me even though I was in love with another man, which was odd, but flattering at the same time. I don't know how I thought he'd react, but that was not it.

I decided to hang out at Starbucks, enjoy my vanilla bean frap and ponder phase two. All I knew was that Eric was getting married in June and that the wedding would be held at his parent's estate. I needed the exact date or this was never going to work. Maybe I could use Mr. Carmichael's senator status to get some information? Or, I could just call Mr. Northman; he might actually help me with this little plan. Stellan Northman always genuinely cared for me; he encouraged our relationship and I think he would have been perfectly happy if we'd gotten married right out of high school.

Now Mrs. Northman, she was a different story. Eric always tried to tell me that she was fond of me, but I knew better. Gran and I both saw through her unnaturally perky façade. She wanted her son to be with some rich snotty bitch like Miss Leclerq. Come to think of it, I bet Mrs. Northman, or Elle, as she liked to be called, was tickled pink right now. Maybe Eric hadn't just let me go… maybe his evil mother had something to do with it. This new outlook made be insanely giddy for someone who'd just broken up with her boyfriend of three years to chase after an ex she hadn't spoken to in four, but whatever. Call me crazy, but this batshit idea might actually work.

With a new spring in my step, I high-tailed it off to my apartment to get my partner in crime's opinion on phase two. As soon as I burst through the door and yelled out "Amelia," I instantly regretted not knocking. My roommate was currently butt ass naked in the reverse cowgirl position on our futon. Gag. I'd burn the slipcover later.

"Amelia, I thought we'd talked about this… behind closed doors, remember? Hi Tray. I'll be in my room and we need to talk after… after you're… done."

I went in my room and slammed the door closed behind me, collapsing on my full-sized bed my thoughts immediately went to Eric. My lips immediately curled up into a smile; only he could make me feel this sublimely happy and I didn't even have him back yet, but I would soon enough (I hoped). My entire outlook on life had changed in two days. Odd.

After Amelia and Tray completed their Sunday afternoon romp, she came bounding into my room and jumped on the bed beside me, tucking her legs underneath her.

"Sorry about that, but we didn't get to see each other last night and well…"

"I don't need the gory details, Amelia, but thanks."

"Of course, of course, now how did things go with Bill?"

"Better than expected. He told me to keep the ring. He still wants me if things don't work out with Eric. Do you find that a little strange?"

"Yeah, just a little, but Bill's always been a little on the weird side you know. Bland and weird. Sad that he'd take you back though. I'll ask Tray about that. It doesn't seem to be normal male behavior. Men tend to be all Neanderthal and "mine." Wonder what gives with him?"

"Don't know, Ames. That's the big mystery, isn't it? So anyway, I think I have step two figured out and I want your opinion."

Amelia scooted up with her back against the headboard and I shifted so I was facing her; this was about to get serious.

"I'm all ears, girl."

"I have two ideas. I need to know when this wedding is, so… I was wondering if you could call Cope or…?"

"Ummm… nope, sorry. No big favors for the non-daddy, Sook, sorry. If I ask him for a favor, I'll owe him later and owing that man is never good."

"Right, so that's why I have a second option. I could just call Eric's Dad?" That was when Amelia lost her shit. She was laughing so hard I thought she was going to pee her pants. She was gone, completely gone.

"AMELIA!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I thought you said you'd call Mr. Northman. Are you NUTS?"

"No, he loves me. Oh and I had an epiphany at Starbucks. What if Elle kept me from Eric? What if she kept us apart? I'm sure Stellan would know that."

"You know, you're right. I never met the bitch, but if she's your typical socialite mommy dearest type, she'd totally pull some shit like that. God Sookie, you're good. Call him."

"What if Elle answers?"

"Hang up. Here, use my cell phone. Cope pays for it, so it's in his name."

I got off the bed and started pacing around my room. I couldn't believe I was about to do this. _I _was about to call my ex-boyfriend's father and coax him into helping _me_ break up his son's pending nuptials. Holy shitcakes, Batman!

EPOV

The wedding was a little over a month away and I was already sick to death of this crazy wedding shit. If I had to look at one more china pattern or flatware sample, I was going to scream. Men should not have to pick out this meaningless crap. Sophie Anne didn't even cook, why would she even need a five hundred dollar place setting?

This was all wrong; everything about it was wrong. I was marrying the wrong girl and I knew it deep down in my bones. Everyone was just so happy, except for me and well, my father. He couldn't stand Sophie Anne or her pretentious family. And, all of this talk of money and the Northman/ Leclerq family merger were only making this entire situation worse; it was a goddamn wedding, not a business venture. My mother loved every single fucking second of this nonsense; Elle was eating it up and I was dying a little inside every single day.

The pure unadulterated insanity of this entire wedding made me think of Sookie, oddly enough. Our wedding would have been a private family affair, not a resplendent popularity contest involving 750 of our "closest" friends. Absurd. What the hell was I thinking? I should have told Sophie that the ring wasn't for her, but she distracted me with my favorite lingerie. Lame excuse, I know. But, I loved her, I guess. I guess? Should I be so lackadaisical about someone I was going to spend the rest of my life with? Nightmare, I was in a fucking horror movie. Kill. Me. Now.

When I arrived at my parent's house on Sunday afternoon, my mother had the Bon Temps paper laid out on the dining room table for me. She'd already take the liberty of neatly cutting out and framing the engagement announcement for me. As I read the carefully worded, boastful piece of shit my stomach lurched. I was disgusted with myself and my mother. This was not my life anymore. My mother and the Leclerq's had taken over; the ball was no longer in my court. I was in way over my head with this one.

I went up to my childhood room and removed the hidden compartment in my desk drawer. This compartment held a few pieces of my past with Sookie. When I went off to college, I hid as much as I could in this drawer; I knew better than to leave any of it out for my mother to destroy.

The first few pictures were of us at the local carnival in one of those picture booths. The first two were the typical goofy pictures you always take with your friends, but the next two were downright dirty. We were making out like the horny teenagers we were; tongues, teeth, and all. God, I loved that girl. No one could affect me the way she could and no one ever would. Her breath on my face and on my neck, her gentle touches; there was nothing, nor would there ever be anything like Sookie Stackhouse.

The phone ringing brought me out of my walk down memory lane. I looked at the caller ID and saw the name 'Copley Carmichael.' I had no idea why the Louisiana State Senator was phoning our house, but I assumed it was about the wedding, so I ignored it. Suddenly, I overheard my father in his study speaking in a rather odd, yet familiar tone of voice; it was one I hadn't heard from him in quite some time. I grew very curious as to whom he was talking to; I was pretty sure that a state senator wouldn't evoke those kinds of emotions out of him. He sounded almost giddy; very strange indeed.

I decided to pick up the phone and eavesdrop. As soon as I heard the voice on the other end of the phone, my heart stopped beating in my chest. If I hadn't muted the phone, both parties would have heard me suck all of the air out of the room. It was Sookie and she was talking to my father. What. The. Fuck?

I heard her asking about the wedding. She wanted to know the date, the time, the details; she wanted it all. Was she planning on attending? Did she want to _watch_ me marry someone else? None of this made any sense. Why would _she_ care about my wedding to Sophie Anne Leclerq? Then I got my answer. She was covering the wedding for the newspaper she worked for. She was a photojournalist. All of my hope faded and I carefully hung up the phone. This wedding was going to happen and my first love, the one true love of my life, was going to be there to witness it all. Damn.


	4. Chapter 4

Don't Say Yes

AH/ OOC

Chapter 4

SPOV

"Amelia! Amelia! It's ringing. Oh my god! It's ringing!" I thought I was going to hyperventilate. I couldn't believe I was doing this. I was officially _the_ psycho-stalker-ex-girlfriend.

The phone rang approximately four times before I heard his voice. It was Eric's father, thank god. I immediately melted onto my bedroom floor. I had been pacing so frantically, I was sure the carpet was going to have a giant hole in it. Amelia just sat there on my bed smiling nervously as I ran around my room attempting to _not _have a full-blown panic attack. Bless her, she didn't even try to calm me down; her attempts would have been futile anyway. This was the most ridiculous thing I had ever done. I decided not to ask Gran's advice on this one; I was positive that I wouldn't like what she would have to say. To be honest, I wasn't particularly happy with myself either, but for some reason this felt like the right thing to do.

When I finally heard the standard Northman greeting, I almost dropped the phone, but somehow my voice found me; I was relieved it found _me_, because if I'd tried to locate it I would have been screwed.

"_Northman Residence, Stellan speaking."_ Cue voice.

"Mr. Northman, I don't know if you remember me, but this is…"

"_Sookie! Is that you? Why are you calling from Senator Carmichael's number?"_ Is that excitement I hear in his voice?

"Yes, Mr. Northman, its Sookie and it's because I didn't want my name appearing on your caller ID. My roommate is Cope's daughter. How are you?"

"_So much better now that I am speaking with you. I guess you have heard the news_." You think? How could I avoid it? After seeing Gran's newspaper, that stupid announcement was everywhere. I couldn't get away from it. It seemed to taunt me from every newspaper stand in the state of Louisiana.

"Yes sir, I have."

"_And what do you intend to do about it?"_ Here's your shot girl. Tell him.

"Well actually, that's why I was calling. I need all of the wedding details. The date, the time… everything. You see, I'm a photojournalist now and I'd love to cover the biggest wedding the southeast has ever seen. This is quite the pairing with Eric being a famous Florida quarterback and his fiancé being a well-known broadcast journalist."

"_Sookie, do not lie to me."_ Uh oh, I was very familiar with that tone. It's been years since I've talked to the man, but this was his "I mean business" voice; I could still remember the face that accompanied that tone. It's so similar to Eric's; the one eyebrow raised, lips pressed into a tight straight line. Intimidating, to say the least.

"I'm not lying. I _am_ a photojournalist. I work for the _Baton Rouge Advocate_."

"_Do not toy with me young lady. I know you work for the Advocate. Do not think that I have not kept up with you. I also know that you would not be calling me to discuss my son's wedding without an ulterior motive." _Did he just call me out? This man knew me well. Too well.

Amelia had been sitting next to me this entire time with her ear pressed to the phone. She squeezed my leg and mouthed "Tell him." It's now or never, I suppose.

"Okay, you're right. He can't marry her…" And then the word vomit started. "I still love him. I've always loved him. I never stopped loving him. He can't marry her! I was engaged to this wonderful man, but as soon as Gran showed me his wedding announcement, everything felt wrong. We were supposed to be engaged, we were supposed to get married and not to different people. I know you're not supposed to find love at 14, but we did and I never got over him. When he left for college and we stopped talking, I stopped existing for a while. If it wasn't for my roommate, I probably would have cried my way through college. I have to stop this wedding." Okay, breathe.

"_Good."_

"Good?"

"_Yes, perfect. Thank god for you. You are the only person who can stop this nonsense. Elle, as you can well imagine, is so thrilled that her son is marrying Miss Sophie Annie Leclerq, daughter of Andre Leclerq of Leclerq Broadcasting, and so on and so forth, that she does not even care that her son is miserable. My son is marrying a younger version of Elle and I will not stand for it. I did not get a choice and I will do everything I can to make sure that Eric does."_ I always suspected their marriage was arranged, but wow, I can't believe he just told me that.

"_As you know, the wedding will be held here at our estate. It will be Saturday, June the fourth at 7:00 pm. Yes, Mr. Carmichael. Yes, sir we will be honored to have you in attendance. Thank you for calling, goodbye."_

"Sookie? That's it? What happened?" Amelia squeaked at me.

"He hung up. He started pretending that he was talking to your father and his voice completely changed. Elle must have walked in. Damn, now what?"

"Well you know when the wedding is, and you have his permission to stop it, so let's stop it. Let's ruin it. We need to make a big entrance. I guarantee that if he sees you it will be over. It won't take much, but we've got to get you ready. You need to be at the top of your game, girl."

"I need to work out." Amelia shook her head at me.

"Girl, didn't you always say that Eric loved your curves? Maybe tone up a bit, but you don't want to lose these." Amelia stood up and made an obnoxious curvy gesture while attempting to wiggle in a sexy way.

"You're totally right, you know that? Okay, so preserve the curves. Got it. Now I need a trim and maybe some highlights just to brighten me up a bit, oh and you and I have _got_ to make sure we are getting as much sun as we can. Sophie is a pale as you get. I want to be the exact opposite of her in every way. Whoa… that's why he's marrying her. Wow." My sudden realization gave me more hope than ever before. Sophie was _the exact_ opposite of me just like Bill was the exact opposite of Eric. Neither one of us could be with people that even remotely resembled the other. Holy shit!

"Don't tell me it took you this long to figure that out? She's your opposite in every single way, Sook. She's rich, no offense, she's got dark red hair, she's petite, she's hideously thin… she's not you. I never met your Eric, but I'm sure that there's no way he could be with a girl who looks anything like you. It'd be too painful for him."

"God, you're right. Okay, so I need to be blonder, curvier, and tanner. Shit, what am I going to wear?"

"Well, you know how much I love to shop. First, we need to find out what color the bridesmaids are wearing. We don't want you to blend. Right now? I'm thinking red. Deep cherry red, skin-tight, with red fuck-me pumps. Oh, and red lingerie. No, a red push-up bra. We need to showcase your assets."

"Ames, he's not going to see my lingerie." Leave it to Amelia's brain to automatically assume sex would be involved in our reunion. Sheesh.

"How do you know?"

"What do you think is going to happen? I'm going to interrupt his wedding and he's going to sweep me off my feet and rush me into his childhood bedroom and fuck me? Somehow I don't think so."

"You never know."

"You're ridiculous, and I love you for it!"

"Yep, and I love you too. Now we need to get busy. First things first, we've got to get you into that wedding. I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of security. We've got to get you an invite."

"Crap, you're right. I bet Stellan would send me one. Maybe he'll call back? He has your number now."

"Okay. Well, if he calls back I'll get him to send us an invite."

"Brilliant. I can't believe I'm doing this."

"I know! I'm so excited. I get to be your date, right?"

"Of course, Ames. I couldn't do this without you!"

We stood up, held hands and immediately started doing that girly jump up and down scream thing. I'm sure we looked ridiculous, but I didn't care. I was one step closer to getting Eric back and I hadn't been this happy in years. Four years to be exact, but who's counting?

STELLAN POV

When I looked at the caller ID tonight and saw the senator's name I immediately did not want to answer the phone. I had no desire to discuss my son's pending nuptials with anyone, much less the Senator of Louisiana. Everyone wanted to attend this ill-fated wedding, and I was not one of those people.

As soon as the phone rang that night and I heard Elle's obnoxious shrieking from the den, I knew that Eric had proposed to Sophie Anne Leclerq. I also knew that my son had just made the biggest mistake of his young life. I had initially hoped against hope that he would enter the NFL draft and that would postpone any future engagement plans he may have had. But when he decided against the draft, I knew I was doomed to watch my son, my only son, enter into a loveless marriage much like my own.

Sookie Stackhouse, Eric's high school sweet heart and first love, was like a breath of fresh air in our lives. Elle could not stand her; she did not meet her "standards," which was why I loved her from the moment I laid eyes on her. Physically, she was a perfect match for Eric: blonde hair, blue eyes, perfectly tan, and a smile that could light up the darkest of days. Elle always argued that we did not know Sookie's family, and unfortunately the only family we had ever met was her louse of a brother, Jason, and her perfectly cheerful grandmother, Adele. None of her familial circumstances mattered to me or to Eric. We both loved her anyway. She was like the daughter I never had; she all but lived at our home for the four years they dated.

The day they both left for college, my heart broke for both of them. I thought they would make it through the separation, but they did not. We stopped receiving Sookie's Christmas cards the first Christmas they were apart. Her absence was felt much more than any of us anticipated. Eric was heartbroken, but he never admitted it; he actually fought it and then eventually rebelled against it.

Every time I attempted to discuss her with Eric he would tell me to mind my own business. Any mention of Sookie's name and I would end up fighting with my son, so I gave up. I realized that this was his life and I had to let him make his own mistakes regardless of the outcome. But tonight? Tonight changed everything.

As soon as I heard that beautiful southern voice, I knew why she was calling. I forced her to tell me though. I wanted her to tell me that she still loved him, that she still wanted to marry him; I needed that confirmation. I would not subject my son to more heartache without knowing that Sookie felt the same way he did. And, he did feel the same way. He never looked at Sophie the way he used to look at Sookie. He held Sophie at a distance; she did not know who he was before he became a record-setting quarterback. Sookie loved him before he was famous; Sophie was marrying him because he was famous.

I could have talked to Sookie all night, but Eric walked into my study and sat down in one of the chairs across from my desk and I was forced to quickly end our call. I hoped that she understood the abrupt end to our conversation, but I am sure she did. She was always a bright young lady. It was very difficult for me to wipe away the satisfied look I had on my face as Eric approached me at my desk.

"Who was that on the phone, Dad?"

"Senator Carmichael, Eric. He was calling to confirm the date and time for your wedding. You know your mother wants every well-known person in the southeast in attendance. It is truly ridiculous." It was very difficult for me to hide my disdain.

"Don't lie to me, Dad, you were talking to Sookie. Why were you talking to Sookie?" As much as it killed me to do this, I would have to lie to him. I had no idea what Sookie had planned and I was not about to be the one to ruin it for her.

"She was assigned to cover your wedding for the newspaper in Baton Rouge." I thought _assigned_ might imply that she at least was not happy about this arrangement.

"Oh. How did she sound? Is she okay?" How much do I tell him here? I really hate lying to him.

"She sounded great, a little sad, but good. She just broke off her engagement with a young man she met at LSU." Just enough hope to plant a seed.

"Oh… she did, did she? Why?"

"She was not happy with him. She knew he was not the one she was supposed to be with, Eric."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Dad?"

"Exactly what I said, son. Exactly what I said. I hung up on her when you came in, so I should call her back and get her address. I will have to send her an invitation otherwise she will not be able to attend. I cannot let your mother know though. You understand?"

"I do, but I'm not okay with her being there. How can I marry Sophie Annie while looking at Sookie?"

"Think about what you just said Eric, really think about it. I need to call her back, but please do not mention a single word of this to your mother."

"I don't want her there. It will be too hard."

"If it is too hard do you not think you should reconsider before it is too late?"

"It's already too late Dad. The ring is on her finger. It's too late."

"It is not too late. It will not be too late until you have officially married her. You have a little less than a month to reconsider, son. Now I am going to call her back, do you want to leave?"

"No, I'll stay. I'd like to at least hear her voice."

I smiled at my son even though my heart was breaking for him and picked up the phone. A young lady answered that was not Sookie. I had to assume it was her roommate. She was just as friendly as Sookie, but perhaps a little shriller sounding. She immediately handed the phone to Sookie.

"Sookie, I apologize for ending my call so abruptly earlier. Eric came in and I was not sure how he would feel about his father talking to his ex-girlfriend. I need to get your address. I will be handling your invitation personally."

"_Thank you Mr. Northman! Eric came in? Is he still there?"_ She sounded happy, nervous, and a little sad.

"Yes dear, he is actually sitting right here." Eric's face visibly paled and he immediately sat up taller; I could tell he was nervous.

"_He is!" _It came out as more of a squeak. I do not think I have ever heard a noise like that in all of my years.

"Yes. Would you like to talk to him?" Eric was vigorously shaking his head "no" at me, but I was determined to do this.

"_Oh god, uh… I don't know. What would I say to him?"_ I could not take it anymore. I hit the speaker phone button and put the handset on the cradle. I gave Eric a look that said, "now or never."

EPOV

I wanted to kill my father.

"Sookie?" I couldn't believe I was about to hear her voice. It had been four years. I still remember the date: August fourth, 2007; that was the last time I heard her voice.

"_Eric? Oh my god! Eric!" _I had to swallow hard to keep my tears at bay. Just hearing her say my name was pure torture. It made me remember all of the ways she used to say my name: when she was angry with me, when she was proud of me, when she was joking with me, and mostly when we were having sex. God, I'd never forget that sound for as long as I live. Talk about pouring salt into an open wound.

"How are you?" What else do you say to someone that you not only haven't talked to in entirely too long, but someone you used to be in love with? Hell that you're still in love with.

"_I'm good. Good. Amelia and I just finished a dance class at the gym on campus. Oh gosh! You don't even know Amelia. She's my roommate. I'm sorry, I'm rambling." _I so didn't need to picture her in spandex, a sports bra and all sweaty from a dance class. She was always so clueless about her insanely obvious sex appeal. It was one of the things I loved most about her.

"Oh. Good. So, you're a photojournalist now?"

"_Uhhhh… yeah, I am. Are you okay with me covering your wedding?"_ Fuck! No, I'm not okay with her covering my wedding, but what the hell am I supposed to say?

"Sure. Yeah. Sure." I chanced a glance up at my father and he was glaring at me like I was about to be tackled to the floor. I could take him, but we were about the same size and it'd hurt like hell.

"_Oh. Good. Well, I need to give you my address then."_ All business. I guess she doesn't care. Shit. Stab that knife into my heart and twist.

"Yeah, okay. What is it?" I grabbed a post-it and a pen off of father's desk and prepared myself to write down Sookie's address so that my father could send her _my_ wedding invitation. How did my life get so fucked up?

"_Ummm, okay, it's 5075 Nicholson Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70820, apartment number 304."_

"Thanks. I'll make sure you get your invitation." It was hard for me not to growl through that last sentence.

"_You know I hate the way things are with us. You have to know that. You do know that, right?" _Maybe she does care after all.

"Yeah me too Sookie, me too." God if she only knew.

"_Well, I need to hit the showers okay? Tell your dad I said bye and Amelia and I will see you in a few weeks I guess." _A few weeks. I would be Mr. Sophie Anne Leclerq in three fucking weeks. And, that's what I would be too. I'd hand her my balls right after I said "I do." Fuck! Why was I marrying her again?

"Okay. Yeah, I'll tell him. I'll see you then. It was nice to hear your voice again, Sookie."

"_Yours too, Eric. Goodnight, sweetheart, goodnight." _She did _not _just say that to me. _"Oh god, I'm so sorry. It was just out of habit, Eric, and entirely inappropriate of me." _There was only one way for me to reply to her.

"I hate to leave you, but I really must say. Goodnight, sweetheart, goodnight"


	5. Chapter 5

Don't Say Yes

AU/ AH/ OOC

Chapter 5

SPOV

Amelia had to remove the phone from my hand and hit the end button for me. I sat there wide eyed wondering what in the world possessed me to end our call that way. I hadn't said that to him in four years… FOUR YEARS! But, he did say it too. He said it too! What did this mean for us? Could there still be an _us_?

"Sookie… you okay girl? What just happened? You look like you've just seen a ghost." Amelia and I were sitting on the floor next to each other leaning up against my bed. I was still staring at the cell phone she'd taken from me in a total state of disbelief.

"Yeah Amelia, I'm okay. I just can't believe I said that to him." She moved to sit directly in front of me. She looked very puzzled and worried. Funny, I was feeling both of those things.

"Why did you say that to him? What was that? Did you just call him 'sweetheart?'"

"Ummm… okay. You're going to think we're crazy, but here goes. You remember the movie _Three Men and a Little Lady_?" She nodded. "Well, one night Eric and I were watching that movie together and for some reason when I walked him to his car, I jokingly said, 'Goodnight, sweetheart, goodnight' and then he responded with, 'I hate to leave you, but I really must say, goodnight sweetheart, goodnight.' It just kind of stuck. It was cheesy, and it started off as a silly sixteen year old joke, but we never, ever said a simple goodnight to each other again after that."

"Wow, and you just… you just said that… Oh wow. Okay. Did he say it back?"

"Yes," I sighed. I needed to get out of there to clear my head. This was all too much excitement for one night. I'd spoken to both Mr. Northman and Eric in a matter of hours. My entire world was suddenly spinning and I didn't know how to make it stop. "Amelia, I'm going for a walk. I'll be back."

"Okay Sook. Be careful, and take your phone with you in case you need it." I grabbed my phone and took off to walk around our apartment complex. This was one of those times when I really wished I was a runner; I could take out all of my sadness and confusion on my body. I always envied those girls with those beautifully slender runner's bodies, but I have a "Sookie doesn't run unless she's being chased" policy, so I had to forgo that body image indefinitely. Oh well. Amelia did mention that Eric liked my curves, so I guess he wouldn't be too happy with me taking up cross-country running either. Why was I suddenly considering Eric? I really, really, needed to wrap my head around all of this - and fast.

I walked until I got to our favorite part of the apartment complex: the pool. Amelia and I spent countless hours working on our tans there every summer. It became my own personal sanctuary; I could turn on my iPod and disappear from the world.

I figured I could hang out in a lounge chair for as long as this " head clearing session" would require without anyone bothering me; the pool wouldn't be open until Memorial Day, which was still a couple of weeks away. I quietly opened the gate and walked to the waterfall at the end of the pool. I'd always found the sound of water very calming and lord knows I needed calm right now. My life had gone from plain vanilla to rocky road in a matter of days.

It was a relatively warm night for early May, so I let my feet dabble in the cold chlorinated water for a few minutes. When I realized I could no longer feel my toes, I wandered over to a lounge chair to stretch out.

My head was cluttered with so many dizzying questions that I felt drunk: Why did I end our call that way? Why did he say it back? Does that mean he still loves me? Is he really going to marry her? Why would Stellan _let_ Eric marry her? Is he happy with her? What does she have that I don't? Why didn't he ever call me? What happened to his Christmas and Birthday cards? If he received them, why didn't he at least write me back, or shoot me an email? My email address hadn't changed after we went off to college.

I was driving myself insane with all of these unanswered questions. The biggest one, though: after everything that happened today, am I really going to wait until his wedding day to tell him how I feel? This question was driving me insane! I really just wanted to tear my hair out every time I thought about it. I mean yes, that _was_ my initial plan. I was going to pose as a photojournalist and as the preacher said "Speak now or forever hold your peace," I was going to stand up in my sexy red dress and tell Eric not to marry Sophie. Could I still do that though? Ahhhhhh! Maybe this alone with my thoughts thing wasn't such a good idea after all.

Just before I was about to completely lose it, my phone rang. I owed whoever was on the other end of the phone a giant thanks for rescuing me from my near psychotic episode. I'm sure I was about two questions away from looking like Linda Blair in _The Exorcist_. Head spinning here I come!

"Hello?"

"_Hey girl! You okay. It's been a couple of hours. Where are you?"_

"Yeah, I'm good. Just chillin' by the pool, but I'm about to head back, actually. What's going on?"

"_Ummm… just checking on you. I just got worried. So, you're on your way back then?"_

"Yep, you okay, Ames?"

"_Yeah. Good, why?"_

"You sound strange."

"_Nope. Good. Just hurry back, okay?"_

"I'm walking your way. What's going on, Ames? You're starting to freak me out."

"_Nothing, nada. Just sitting here watching some T.V." _

"Whatever. You're acting weird. See you in a few."

"_'K!"_

What the heck? That was the shortest conversation Amelia and I have ever had. She's usually a twenty minute girl regardless of the topic or situation. I decided that I might just take up running after all. It didn't take me more than five minutes to get back to our area of the apartment complex. I sprinted up the three flights of stairs and as soon as my hand hit that door knob and I opened the door I realized why Amelia sounded so freaked out on the phone.

He was here. It was _him._ What was _he _doing here? I couldn't even walk into the apartment. I quietly closed the door and sank down in front of it. If I thought my head was spinning and my heart racing before, I'd thought wrong. I was pretty sure I was going to die of heart failure sitting in denim shorts and LSU Tigers t-shirt. I just wanted to run away and hide and then cry until there was no moisture left in my body. How did he even find me? Oh right! _I_ gave him _my _address tonight. I smacked myself in the forehead and slammed my head back into the door. I was bordering on a two year old tantrum right here outside my apartment door. Way to be mature, Sookie! I bet Stellan was behind this! Oh, I was _so_ going to get him after this was over with. What was he thinking?

My final bout of insanity was interrupted by the door opening, and since I was leaning back against it like my life depended on it for support, I fell backwards over the threshold, slamming my head into the tile floor of our entryway. I looked up to see two very concerned sapphire eyes staring down at me. Oh those eyes. I'd forgotten how easily I got lost in them. Damn him and his beautiful soul searching eyes.

Neither one of us had spoken yet, but for some reason my body was no longer blocking the doorway to our apartment. I was now sitting on the sofa. Alone. With him. We were on opposite ends, but we were still in the same room, on the same piece of furniture. And, where the hell was Amelia? Some friend she was! She left me alone in here with him. What was she thinking? I couldn't trust myself alone with this man. I quickly came to the conclusion that Amelia was no longer my friend.

It wasn't until he spoke that I realized he was really here in the flesh. He was sitting on our sofa, in our apartment; he was real. This wasn't another one of my vividly concocted dreams that I'd struggled with for years. This was actually happening. Reality.

"Sookie?" Okay, brain connects with mouth, mouth forms words, voice makes sound. I can do this.

"Uh huh. Yeah." You haven't seen him in years and this is the first thing you say to him. Brilliant. You should change your major from photojournalism to public speaking.

"I'm sorry to come by so late. I drove all the way from Bon Temps to see you. It should have taken me a few hours, but you know how fast I drive. I got here in less than two. I apologize for interrupting your evening." He just looked at me expectantly, like I was supposed to jump into his arms and forgive him or something. Apparently today was one of those single word answer kind of days.

"Okay."

"I haven't seen you in four years and all you have to say to me is 'okay'? I just told you I drove here to see you and all you can say is 'okay'?" Uh oh, I recognize that tone. That's the "Eric's getting pissy" tone. Fabulous. Well, wasn't today just a laugh a minute? Break-up with fiancé – check, call ex-boyfriend's father to stop wedding – check, speak to ex-boyfriend unintentionally – check, and now my favorite: sit on sofa while you piss off said ex-boyfriend – check, check, checkity, check! Good thing I normally have low blood pressure, because today surely would have killed me.

"Did you come here to yell at me or to tell me all about your spectacular wedding or did you come all the way here to explain why today was the FIRST TIME I've talked to you in FOUR YEARS!" Now it was my turn to raise my voice.

"For fuck's sake, Sookie! Are you really so stubborn that you're not even going to give me chance here? I could ask you the same things, you know. Why did _you_ stop calling? Why didn't _you_ email me? Why did _you_ stop sending your goofy Christmas cards?" Oh god! He never got them. The tears, the relentless angry hurt tears, that I'd been holding in all day had finally arrived. I pulled my knees up to my chest and buried my face. There was no way I could stop the sobbing. This was all too much. Way too much.

Sometime in the middle of my sob-fest Eric had moved so that he was sitting entirely too close to me on the sofa. He was now touching me for the first time in years. My body so desperately wanted to react to his familiar touch, but I didn't let it. I wouldn't let it. He was running his hand all over my back and my traitorous body kept trying to lean into him. Damn him and his big, warm, familiar, comforting hands.

"Sookie, you have to tell me what's wrong? I'm sorry for yelling at you, but we need to talk about this. We can't go another minute without talking. If we'd talked before today things could have been very different."

He was right, of course he was; he was always the voice of reason. I was the over-reactive, stubborn, strong-willed southern girl. He was my calm blue sea. I slowly raised my head to look into his eyes and I suddenly wished that I hadn't just lost it, because he looked so perfect and I'm sure I looked ridiculous. I was probably all puffy and red-faced. He'd seen me cry before, but not in years. He never liked it when I cried. He'd told me so many times that he just couldn't handle it. My big Viking of a man was afraid of my tears.

"Okay, okay… you're right."

"Well that's four words, so you're on the right track." He gave me a hint of a smile and slid away from me slightly. He knew I needed my space. He was always so good at reading me. So good in fact, that it used to drive me crazy.

"Eric… I sent you cards every year. I sent you Birthday cards and Christmas cards. Even though we weren't together, I still wanted you to know I was thinking about you." His face fell and he ran his hands through his, now much shorter hair, pulling on it a little out of frustration.

"Mother." Yep, Elle was definitely behind this.

"You know? I wondered if she was intercepting those cards. I knew she never liked me. You always did your best to hide it from me, but I knew the truth and so did Gran. I'm sure your father did too. He was always fighting for us, while your mother always fought against us."

"God Sookie, I don't know what to say. There are no words. She did this. And now I'm giving her exactly what she always wanted. I'm marrying a name. A brand. An empire. I played right into her hands hook, line and sinker."

"As soon as I saw the announcement I knew your mother had to be thrilled. I was never good enough for you. My family isn't famous, nor will they ever be. I have no money or connections. But, Sophie Anne. She's just perfect, isn't she?"

"Please don't say her name right now. I can't handle hearing it." Okay, wow. That's interesting.

"You don't want to talk about your _fiancé_? The woman you're going to marry in less than a month? Why not?"

"Why not? Why not! Because… god… Sookie, because…"

"Because what?"

"I shouldn't be marrying her and… I shouldn't be here. I should go."

And with that, he was gone. One second he was here and the next he wasn't. I didn't even have the strength to stop him. I couldn't. If he wanted to leave, then fine. But, what the hell had just happened? Now I was more confused than ever. And, I was angry again. Very, very hurt and angry. Why did he come all this way only to run away again? Why? I just wanted to scream, I wanted to scream until there was no air left in my lungs. I couldn't do this again. I wasn't strong enough to survive this again. Again, again, again… the word was reverberating in my brain. I was having a sick sense of déjà vu. I flashed back to four years ago. I was sitting alone in the grass crying my eyes out as I watched his taillights disappear at the end of my driveway.

I didn't realize I was sobbing until Amelia emerged from behind her bedroom door and gasped. I must have looked like hell.

"Oh god Sookie, what happened?"

Between sobs, I was able to get out, "He… left… again."

"What? Why? What happened? "

"Said… shouldn't… marry… should… go." Still sobbing.

"He said he shouldn't marry her and then he said he should go?" I nodded. God she was amazing at understanding sob-speak.

"Sookie, that just doesn't… I don't get it. Why did he come all this way only to leave again? He obviously cares for you. We talked a bit before you got here and he was really nervous. He told me that, well he told me…"

"He told you what, Amelia? What did he tell you?"

"Ahh, ummm… that he should be marrying you. Or something like that."

"Or something like, what? What did he say? I have to know _exactly _what was said."

Amelia came over and sat next to me on the couch. She put her arm around my shoulders and pulled me to her. In a very soft un-Amelia like tone she said, "Sook, you've got to stop this wedding. All I know is that he loves you. He _still_ loves you, girl. You and I, we're going to do this. He risked a lot by coming here tonight to see you. You don't know the LeClerqs like I do. They are a nasty bunch of manipulative bitches. I went to a few cotillions with Sophie-Anne…"

"Wait a minute, you _know_ her?"

"No Sookie, I don't know her _know her_, but I've met her. She is one crazy red-headed bitch. She would always pray on the richest boy in the room. Nothing else mattered to her. She's all about money and fame. She's a fame-whore. She can't marry _your_ Eric. You know, I hadn't met him until tonight and he's obviously good-looking, but it's more than that. I've never seen someone light up the way he did when he talked about you. I guess Tray looks at me like that. I'll have to watch him more carefully next time. But lordy, girl! That boy luuurves you. He wants to marry you. I just think that he's too afraid to end this wedding now. He's too far gone. You have to do this for him. We'll do this for y'all."

"Are you sure, Ames? Are you absolutely positive he'll end this with her if I show up at his wedding? I'm not going to set myself up for that kind of fall. That would be… I would _never_ recover from that."

"I'm one hundred percent positive. Now we just have to find you that sexy little red number and knock his socks off! Oh! And by the way, the bridesmaids' dresses are daffodil. I asked Eric. He said they were "yellowish." Men are so clueless. Anyway, while y'all were out here making a mess of things, I did a little research and found out that the wedding colors are daffodil and lavender. Gag me. How hideous. Anyway, your red is good to go!"

"Wow. Thanks Ames, I owe you one. Okay, so we're really going to do this?"

"We are really going to do this. No backing out now."

"Let operation 'ruin the LeClerq-Northman wedding commence.'"

"Let's do this, Sook!"


	6. Chapter 6

Don't Say Yes

AU/ AH/ OOC

Chapter 6

EPOV

As I left Sookie's apartment and made my way back to Bon Temps, I had too much time to really consider everything that had happened in the last twelve hours. I was already having doubts about my marriage to Sophie Anne, and hearing Sookie's warm, familiar voice on the phone made me realize just what I'd be giving up when I married her. I wanted to pick up the phone and put an end to all of this. I wanted this nightmare to be over. How did I let it get this far? What the hell was I thinking when I proposed to _her_? Oh wait. That's right. I didn't really propose. She found the ring and I didn't stop her from assuming that I was going to ask her to marry me. Fuck!

Luckily, Dad was there to talk some sense into me. He reminded me that it was important to go with my gut. But, what was my gut telling me now? I'd never been this confused in my entire life. Nothing made sense anymore.

While I cared deeply for Sophie Anne, it was obvious that I did still love Sookie. But so much time had passed, and we were very different people now. Dad was the one to encourage me to make the drive to Baton Rouge even when I knew it wasn't the greatest idea. He'd fought hard for us when Elle did everything in her power to destroy us all those years ago. Unfortunately, Dad couldn't save us from ourselves; he couldn't prevent the inevitable break-up before college and he couldn't stop us from dating and falling in love with other people.

Hearing her voice again reminded me of what it felt like to be in love with her all those years, and it made me realize that I didn't love Sophie like I once loved Sookie. Soph was beautiful, intelligent, and sexy, but she lacked the sweet, innocent, southern charm that Sookie had. Sookie loved me before I became Eric Northman the record-setting quarterback and Sophie loved me because I fit into her picturesque ideal of the perfect mate. But, we really were great together. We were two powerful individuals apart, but together we were unstoppable. She wasn't quite my "other half" like Sookie once was, but that part of my life was over. It ended the day I drove away four years ago. It was time to face my future; a future without Sookie.

Why was I so conflicted now? Three weeks from my wedding? Shit! Was this _just_ typical pre-wedding jitters? Why was I considering Sookie now? This was so fucked-up. I'd driven down to Baton Rouge on a whim to see her; to see how she felt, to see if the chemistry was still there. And, god knows it was still there. It was so hard to keep my hands off of her. I wanted to hug her, kiss her, hold her, just be with her, but she wasn't mine to have, or was she? I didn't even know if she was single. She was probably engaged too. Why was I so presumptuous to assume that she'd even want to be with me again?

When I arrived at her apartment, a petite brunette answered the door and I knew immediately that she had to be Senator Carmichael's daughter. I'd met her once at one of those awful formal dances that mother insisted upon me attending when I was younger. She thought it would be a way to find me a "proper wife." Amelia didn't seem to remember me though, thank god; probably because I looked nothing like the awkward long-haired boy I'd once been. Once I started playing football there was no extra time for forced social events and I suppose mother discovered another way to find me a wife: pro-football.

Her roommate led me into their living room and my senses were immediately inundated with Sookie. I was almost overcome with just being surrounded by all of her things. Amelia offered me something to drink, which I declined and then ran off to her room to make a phone call. I knew she was calling Sookie, but I didn't know why she felt the need to hide it from me. Was she warning her? Was I making a _huge_ mistake by coming here? I had a sinking feeling in my gut. I'd never been so nervous in my entire life, and I wanted to run.

When she returned to the living room and joined me on the futon she wasted no time at all giving me the third degree. We briefly spoke about the upcoming wedding and I freely admitted to having my doubts and to possibly still being in love with Sookie. I really hoped to gain some insight about how she felt about me, but before I had the chance to ask, the apartment door opened and then slammed shut. I expected Sookie to come storming into the room, and when she didn't Amelia pointed towards the front door and then disappeared down the hallway.

I half expected to chase Sookie through her apartment complex, so I was shocked when I opened the door and Sookie fell into the foyer with a thud. Her head hit the tiles so hard I was worried she'd have a concussion. What the hell was she doing out there? She just stared at me with those familiar, comforting blue eyes I hadn't seen in years, but she didn't say a word. She was uncharacteristically quiet for Sookie and this worried me. I was so accustomed to being on the other end of one of her tirades, but maybe that was the old Sookie. Had she changed _that_ much?

I didn't know what else to do, so I carefully picked her up and carried her to the sofa. The feeling of her in my arms again was beyond explanation. She hadn't changed a bit. Her body felt the exact same way it had all those years ago. She was still perfectly curvy, but maybe slightly more muscular than before. She still felt like my Sookie though. Damn it! She was not mine! I had to get that through my thick skull.

I sat her down on one end of the futon, while I sat at the other end to give her some space. I expected her to start yelling at me immediately, but when she didn't even speak, I decided to bite the bullet. The conversation that followed did not go as well as I had envisioned on my way here. We'd always fought just as hard as we'd loved. It was the way we worked. We were volatile, unpredictable and exciting; I loved it and I missed it.

I never intended to leave her like I did; I was _not_ the one to run in our relationship, but hearing her mention Sophie Anne _and _ finding out that my mother was the reason I'd never received Sookie's cards was just too much for me to take in one night. I was lost. I'd never been so confused in my entire life, so I did the cowardly thing and I left.

I knew I'd regret it for the rest of my life, but I didn't know what else to do. I was committed to marrying another woman in less than a month, as Sookie so poignantly stated. The shittiest thing though? I didn't love Sophie like loved Sookie, but I'd agreed to marry her before Sookie ever reappeared in my life. This wasn't fair to either of them. Sure, Soph could be a little irritating and unbelievably pretentious at times; she was not who I thought I'd ever marry, but she wasn't an evil person, right? She didn't deserve this. But, my gut kept telling I was about to marry the wrong girl. I slammed my hands down onto the steering wheel and screamed in frustration. How the hell had my life gone so wrong?

It was well past four when I finally pulled into the garage. This was not the way I was hoping my night would end. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I actually thought that I might not come home at all tonight. Had I really actually considered staying with Sookie? Great idea Northman! Sure, go ahead, cheat on your soon-to-be bride. What the hell was I thinking? I really didn't know anymore, but I knew I needed to talk to someone about this before I attempted to sleep tonight.

I carefully entered Dad's room, quietly shutting the door behind me. My parents had been in separate bedrooms for as long as I could remember. It used to bother me when I was younger, but I was never more grateful for their separation than I was tonight. He sat up immediately, rubbing his eyes and reaching for his glasses. He turned on his bedside lamp and motioned for me to sit in the chair next to his bed.

"Eric? What is it? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just got back from Sookie's. I'm pretty sure I fucked up."

I carefully explained everything that happened, while he shook his head in disbelief. When I told him about the cards he said, "I am so sorry I did not divorce that woman years ago, Eric. I will do my best to find those cards for you. It is the least that I can do. You should have them. They are yours."

I didn't know what else to do and there was really nothing left for either of us to say, so I just thanked my father for his help and closed the door to his room. It wasn't like he had any answers for me. He'd offered me his guidance and that was about all he could do. I was the one who'd proposed to Sophie, and I was the one who would be marrying her in two weeks.

When I finally got in bed around six in the morning, I couldn't sleep. I kept seeing Sookie's sad blue eyes staring into mine, and I could still smell her scent on my clothes from where I'd attempted to comfort her. I decided I'd let this night be my last night to think about Sookie Stackhouse. I allowed myself to breathe in her scent one last time as I finally fell asleep.

STELLAN POV

After Eric came to my room last night, I could not go back to sleep. I did not want him to know that Sookie had plans for stopping this wedding. Knowing that he loved her still was a huge relief for me. And, even though he was still not admitting to himself that he loved her, I could see it in his eyes. I knew that I had to continue encourage Sookie to go through with her plans, and I needed to call her to make sure she was going to do just that. I was worried that Eric's reappearance in her life had possibly changed her mind. I deeply regretted that sending him to see her had not ended this wedding, but I was more than happy to continue to help Sookie and her friend if they still needed me. I would do anything to see my son happy. Anything.

I quietly made my way down to the study to retrieve the number Sookie had phoned me from the night before. Her roommate, Amelia, answered and assured me that they were still planning on attending the wedding. And, that was all I needed to know. I quickly set the plans in motion to make my son happy again. I wanted nothing more than to go to Elle and inform her that Sookie was coming back and there was nothing she could do to prevent the inevitable reunion, but I had to remain calm if this was going to work. Elle could not suspect a thing or all of our preparations would be ruined in the blink of an eye.

First things first, I had to find those cards. Where would Elle hide them? The safe? No, too obvious and I would have seen them already. Where is the one place neither Eric nor I ever went in this house? Of course! Her bedroom. I had not shared a room with her in at least ten years, if not more. We each had our own sanctuaries away from each other. I never wanted Eric to have a marriage like ours and that gave me the motivation to forge ahead with this plan.

When I heard Elle in the kitchen, I took a deep breath, grabbed Amelia Broadway's address and headed into breakfast. Like every morning, Elle was perfectly coiffed and seated at one end of the large breakfast table silently sipping her morning tea and reading.

"Good morning, my dear. I trust that you slept well." This was the way I had greeted her for thirty plus years. Some things never change.

"Yes Stellan, and you?" Also the same. Everything we did was so routine. Monotonous.

"Very well, indeed. I actually have something for you. Senator Carmichael called last night and requested an invitation for his daughter and a friend to attend the wedding."

"Oh! Of course! I was planning on inviting the Senator, but I never even considered his daughter. How thoughtless of me! You remember Amelia, right? I always tried to get Eric to dance with her at cotillion, but he never took to her. But, that is neither here nor there. He has found a much better match in Sophie Anne. But, who is this friend, do we know her? She isn't some college white –trash from LSU is she? I will not have this wedding polluted with the likes of…"

"No darling, I assure you. Her friend is apparently a journalist for the _Baton Rouge Advocate_ she simply wants to cover the biggest event of the year."

"Oh, well why didn't you say so? Of course she can come. I'm quite surprised at you, Stellan. One minute you do not appear to be happy for our son and now you're making sure every major newspaper in the state has someone in attendance."

"If Eric is happy, then I am happy, Elle." No truer words were ever spoken.

She gave me the first genuinely warm smile she had given me in years and then went back to her book. If she only knew what I was up to, she would be furious. The thought made me slightly giddy and I had to carefully hide my smirk behind my morning paper. We sat in companionable silence for the remainder of breakfast. For the first time in years there was no tension in the room. Oh how things were about to change. She would not even see this coming.

Once Elle was off to participate in more of the wedding festivities, I made my way up to her bedroom. I went straight to her vanity and checked all of the drawers. In the bottom right-hand drawer was an old jewelry box containing all of Sookie's cards. I quickly removed them and placed the box back in the drawer. The cards were not mine to read, so I carefully tucked them under my mattress for safe-keeping. I knew that withholding these cards from Eric made me no better than Elle, but I really wanted this to work out for Sookie. If I handed the cards over prematurely the repercussions could be catastrophic. I would not chance it, I could not. I had to trust Sookie and Amelia to successfully pull this off and for some reason I had complete faith in them.

Thankfully, I did not run into Eric again until later that afternoon when he and Elle were in the kitchen going over the groomsmen's wedding itinerary. He looked sullen and miserable, but no matter how much I hated this for him, I had to keep quiet. I had a feeling that the only way Elle would ever let him out of her clutches would be in some highly dramatic fashion. And, what is more dramatic than stopping a half a million dollar wedding?

I could not wait and I found myself uncharacteristically excited. I forced myself to leave the room and retire to my study for the evening. Upon entering I saw a cream envelope lying on my desk. In tediously careful calligraphy was the name "Miss Amelia Broadway & Guest." I went over to the bar and poured myself a hefty glass of scotch and grabbed a cigar. I silently toasted Sookie and Eric as I placed the stamp on the envelope. My job was done. Everything else was left up to that darling blond that stole my heart and the heart of my son from the minute she entered our lives.

A/N: Remember – this is an Eric and Sookie story and I don't do anything but HEAs. Have NO fear!

Chapter 7 is already written and off to the beta. Funny how easy it is for me to write now that I'm following my original plot.

Thank you all for sticking me with. I hope I didn't confuse you too bad. If you have any questions, you know where to find me. You can expect regular updates from here on out. I'm a writing machine.

Thank you Belleviolette1! You're my inspiration and my partner in ASkars admiring! *big hugs*

Happy Friday, everyone!


	7. Chapter 7

Don't Say Yes

AU/ AH/ OOC

Chapter 7

SPOV

"Sookie Stackhouse! Get your butt in here, girl! We have to be in New Orleans at eleven o'clock and it's almost nine thirty! You know it's at least an hour and that's without traffic. What are you doing in there?"

Amelia was driving me nuts. Crazy nuts. She was flipping out about this whole red dress thing. She'd made an appointment for us at Wedding Belle's a week ago. I had no clue why we were going to a bridal shop to find _the _dress, but whatever. Amelia was native to New Orleans, so I suppose I had to trust her. She insisted that they carried plenty of dresses that would be suitable for me to wear. She mentioned something about "Jenny Yoo" and "Pricilla of Boston," but I just ignored her; I didn't know who Jenny or Pricilla were, but they sounded expensive.

So there I was rushing around my bedroom throwing various sundresses around, sweating like a stuck pig, and desperately trying to figure out what in the world to wear to this chichi bridal shop.

"Sookie! Good lord. Just put this on." Amelia threw a pale yellow dress at me along with some white espadrilles and a white cardigan. The shoes nearly missed my head.

"Amelia, I've tried this on already. It's not my best dress. Can't we just go to the mall or something? Why do we have to go to this stupid bridal shop anyway?" I was officially whining like a baby. I _so_ wasn't comfortable with this whole upscale bridal shop thing, and she knew it.

"Quit your bitchin' and put this on. Now. No arguing. I'll be in the car."

I shouted a "Yes, ma'am!" at her as I heard the front door slam. What in the hell had gotten into her? She'd been all in a tizzy ever since Stellan called last week to let us know that our invitation was in the mail.

Once I was dressed, I attempted to tame my tousled hair, which had been mussed in the process of ripping off various dresses, and I quickly reapplied some lip gloss. I grabbed my purse and headed out the door. Amelia was waiting in her brand new black BMW 335i convertible coupe (a graduation present from absent dear old Dad). We were apparently _not _taking my pathetic little POS Corolla. Figures. She wouldn't want to show up to her old stomping grounds in a beat-up '99 Toyota while a perfectly good BMW sat in the parking lot.

"It's about damn time."

"I'm sorry, Ames, I am, but don't you think this is ridiculous?"

"No, Sookie. I'm sorry, but I don't think this is _ridiculous_. This is _the_ biggest day of your life and everything has _got_ to be perfect. We can't have perfect if we don't have the right dress, shoes, and accessories. You've got to trust me here. You have to feel like a million bucks to successfully pull off what you're about to do. You do remember that in two weeks, _two weeks_, you are going to stand up in the middle of the biggest wedding this state has ever seen and… you're going to… wait… what are you going to say? We haven't even thought about that! God, we have so much to do and so little time!"

"Calm down, Amelia! Please just calm down. You're making me a nervous wreck. I know what I'm going to say. That's actually the easy part." I could see the wheels in her head turning. I knew I was about to be bombarded with some insanely long list of everything we had to accomplish in the next two weeks. I didn't need the added stress right now. At all.

"Oh it is, is it? Then miss smarty pants, do tell."

"When the preacher says 'speak now or forever hold your peace,' I'm just gonna stand up and say… actually, you know what? I'm not gonna tell you, but just know it's perfect. You're going to have to trust me on this one."

"Well, as long as you know what you're going to say…"

"I do. I sure do. I know exactly what I'm going to say."

"Well, for heaven's sake, please don't say 'I do!'" We both laughed at the irony of my word choice, and our laughter finally broke the tension between us. We spent the rest of the drive singing off-key to whatever happened to pop-up on Amelia's iPod. I think we'd covered everything from Britney Spears to Stone Temple Pilots by the time we approached the outskirts of New Orleans.

We arrived at "Wedding Belle's" with fifteen minutes to spare. Amelia parked the car and we both got out and walked towards the front door. Our appointment was with a bridal consultant by the name of Pamela. She co-owned the store, and Amelia apparently knew her on a personal level, which I didn't care for her to elaborate on. I was well aware of the experimental phase she'd gone through during her senior year in high school (I was just thankful it didn't carry on into college). TMI, thank you very much.

"Amelia, it's so good to see you. You're looking as delectable as ever." Pamela, a beautiful long-haired blond with legs for days, greeted Amelia with a full-on mouth kiss. I was waiting for them to make-out in the lobby. Dumbfounded hardly described the look on my face. Knowing and _seeing_ are two entirely different things.

As soon as Pamela noticed me, she abandoned Amelia and headed my way. I half-expected her to kiss me too with the way she was looking at me. "And you must be Sookie, the little show-stopper. It's so nice to meet you. Welcome to Wedding Belle's. Amelia, you didn't tell me your roommate was so…"

I had to interrupt her. I did _not _want her to finish that statement.

"It's so nice to finally meet you too, Pamela." I held my hand out to hers expecting a customary handshake, but she brought my hand up to her lips for a kiss instead, which shocked me beyond words.

With a wink she released my hand and said, "Please call me, Pam. No one calls me Pamela." I noticed she shot Amelia a look. I wondered what that was about, but decided that I'd save that conversation for a later date. I was quickly ushered into a dressing room that was filled with what looked to be every single red dress in the store.

"The color was red, wasn't it?" Pam asked as she started unzipping the back of my dress without giving me any warning.

"Uh, yes it was. Thanks. These are all beautiful dresses." As I was shimmying out of my sundress, Amelia came in and started sorting through the dresses Pam had picked out for me. She handed five of the dresses to me and said, "It's one of these. Pam, be a doll and put the rest of these back. Thanks."

"Bossy, bossy, Miss Amelia. You always did like to be the one in control." Ugh. Really? Amelia didn't even blink or blush. I would have turned the color of these dresses.

After trying on the first four dresses with no success, I was getting really, really frustrated. The final dress was a red satin halter top with a square neck line and a fitted pencil skirt that ended right above my knees. It was classy, but sexy. Perfect. As soon as I stepped out of the dressing room both Pam and Amelia gave me a knowing look and then winked at each other.

"So, I guess this is the dress?" I asked as I spun around.

Pam approached me and started re-arranging my "girls." I was so dumbfounded I couldn't even respond. Was this normal bridal shop protocol? When she was finished nipping, tucking and situating she stood back and purred, "You look positively edible. Whoever you're wearing this for is one lucky, lucky man."

I told her thank you, and I meant it. That was exactly what I needed to hear. I stepped in front of the three-way mirror and Amelia came up behind me holding a pair of red satin peep-toed stilettos with a thin ankle strap. I carefully bent down to put them on and once the ensemble was complete I stood back and took a really good look at myself. I had to admit I looked damn good. Everyone in the store had gathered around to see what all of the fuss was about. There were brides everywhere and it made me nauseous; I was about to stop a wedding. I was about to ruin one brides dream day. But he was worth it, right? Yep, no question; Eric was definitely worth it. Just thinking about his reaction to me in this dress gave me butterflies.

I went back into the dressing room, removed my dress and shoes and as I was slipping my sundress back on I heard a very, very familiar voice coming from the lobby of the store. I peered out of the little safe haven of my dressing room and sure as shit there was Elle Northman. What did I do to deserve this? I quickly got Amelia's attention and dragged her into the dressing room with me.

"God Sookie! What the hell? That hurt." Amelia said as she rubbed her arm. I didn't even realize I had a death grip on Amelia's upper arm. That was definitely going to leave a mark.

"I'm sorry, Ames," I hissed, "but that's Elle Northman standing in the lobby talking to Pam."

"What?" She whispered back. "Oh my god. What the hell are we going to do?"

"Good question. _Very_ good question."

"Act like nothing's wrong?"

"Well that would be the sensible thing to do. It's not like she suspects anything, right?"

"Right."

"Okay, well here goes nothing." I gathered the red dress and shoes into my arms and opened the curtain very slowly. As soon as the curtain was all the way open I realized why Elle was here. Standing in the center of the dressing room on a raised platform stood Sophie-Anne LeClerq in her wedding gown. _The_ wedding gown she was going to be wearing in two weeks when I stopped her from marrying Eric. Shit! I nearly fell out of the dressing room, but thank god for Amelia. She grabbed my hand and gave it a good squeeze. She must have realized who the scrawny red-head was at the exact same moment I did.

The red-head may have been scrawny, but she was nothing short of super model beautiful. The black and white photo in the wedding announcement hardly compared to what I was looking at now. She was at least my height, if not a little taller, with flawless milky white skin, naturally deep red hair and sparkling emerald eyes. She was stunning. From the minute I saw her I instantly knew why Eric was attracted to her. No one in their right mind would ever find this woman ugly. She was very Nicole Kidman-esque and just as thin too. I'd actually look a lot curvier standing next to her and that was putting it nicely; the girl was a stick. Seeing her was a like a slap in the face. She was everything I wasn't and never would be. No wonder Elle liked her so much.

I had to snap out of my trip down self-loathing lane long enough to get out of the store. I could hate myself as much as I wanted to once I was safely driving back to Baton Rouge.

I hoped and prayed that neither one of them would see us as we cautiously walked behind them. I crossed my fingers that they would just be too engrossed in everything Sophie Anne to notice the blond with the bright red dress attempting to sneak out behind them.

No such luck. "Sookie Stackhouse." Not a question. A statement. The way she said my name was enough to make me want to bash her face in.

"Mrs. Northman." That was the nicest thing I could think to say to the woman that hated my guts and tried to keep Eric away from me for all these years. Gran had taught me manners though, and I wouldn't cuss her out no matter how much my inner voice was going through every single cuss word I'd ever heard.

"Fancy seeing you here, Sookie. Isn't this store a little out of your price range though? Although, I see you've managed to find the cheapest, trashiest dress in the entire store." Okaaaay. Calm blue sea. Eric's eyes. Cute fluffy kittens. Rainbows. Ponies. The look on her face when I steal Eric away from her. _That_ was what I needed to concentrate on to make it out of this store without causing a scene.

"It was lovely to see you again too, _Elle_." So I may or may not have spat her name at her. I couldn't help it. That was just rude.

"I'm sorry, but did you say 'Sookie,' Elle? This isn't _the_ Sookie. You have got to be kidding me, right? I thought Eric said she was attractive. Wow, you must have gained a little weight since the last time he saw you, huh? I could never imagine Eric dating someone so… what's the word I'm looking for? Rotund? Yes, that suits you well." And, I suddenly felt better about stealing Eric from this little red-headed bitch. Much, much better.

"Yes, my darling Sophie. How rude of me not to properly introduce you! Sookie, meet Sophie Anne, Eric's fiancé. Sophie Anne, meet Sookie, the piece of white-trash that _almost_ ruined your Eric."

Holy shit! She did _not _just say that. This woman was even worse than I remembered. Probably because the last time I saw her she was trying to be nice to me in the presence of her son. Well, she wasn't holding anything back now, was she? And, 'your Eric.' Fuck that! That's _my_ Eric, bitches! My inner monologue was screaming to be unleashed on these two, but I'd have to save all of these lovely words for the wedding day. That lovely thought made me all tingly inside. These two were going to rue the day they ever met me, and I couldn't wait! But for now, I had to be "polite southern belle Sookie," put on my big girl undies, and make nice with these psychos.

"It's very nice to meet you, Sophie Anne. Congratulations on your pending nuptials." _That will never happen_, I thought to myself. "I wish you and Eric only the best. Now Amelia and I should really be going. We have a long drive ahead of us." Just when I thought we were in the clear, I realized my mistake. I'd said Amelia's name… out loud. Well, too late now.

"Amelia! Amelia Broadway, is that you?" Think quick, Ames. Please don't let two and two equal four, Elle.

"Oh. Hi, Sophie-Anne. You look lovely, but Sookie's right we really have to get back to Baton Rouge. We have finals to study for. Yeah, finals." Amelia was shoving me out of the room and towards the lobby as fast as she could. I guess she didn't want to see the cat fight that was about to ensue if I didn't get out of this god forsaken bridal shop in five seconds.

"But, I thought finals were over weeks ago?" Sophie Anne questioned. Lord Ames, could you not have said a lunch reservation or something? Hair appointment? Anything plausible?

"Oh yeah, but we ah…we took a May-mester. You know… those classes that only last the month of May? Anyway, great to see you and congratulations!" Way to go Ames. We were so fucked.

When we finally reached the front of the store, we paid and then we were out the door within minutes. I guess Pam took pity on us after watching that "made-for-TV-movie" unfold, because she didn't say a word as we all but ran out of the store.

When Amelia and I were safely back on the road and finally headed home, I let myself go. I couldn't stop myself from crying. Nothing could make me feel better. Sure, Elle had hurt me, but that wasn't a big surprise. She'd always hated me. I'd just never expected to come face-to-face with the girl that Eric had chosen over me. And, she was a horrible, nasty bitch. I'd never met a bigger bitch! She was awful! She'd insulted me without thinking twice about it. She didn't even _know_ me. Now I was crying because I was angry too. Hurt, angry and sad. Very sad for Eric. He had no idea what kind of beast he was about to marry; I was sure of that!

"Sookie? You wanna talk about it?" Amelia had been quiet this entire time just silently observing me. Waiting for me to calm down, I guess.

"I'm not sure." And, I really wasn't. What was the point in rehashing all of this with her? I was pissed. That much was obvious.

"You know you're not fat right? You're beautiful. That hideous beast in a wedding dress was just scared. She finally met the _one _girl who has the potential to ruin her big day. And that's just what you and I are going to do. That bitch is going down!" And this is why Amelia was my best friend. Somehow she had the ability to make me laugh in the middle of my massive melt-down. "How about we go see Gran? We can drive straight to Bon Temps. We can head back tomorrow after breakfast. I can just borrow some of you clothes if that's okay?"

"I love you, Ames. Thank you. That actually sounds perfect."

Amelia and I sat in comfortable silence all the way to Gran's. When we got there it was well after two in the afternoon and we were both starving, so Gran was more than happy to make us a few sandwiches while we sat around and talked.

After I'd demolished sandwich number two, Amelia and I explained everything that occurred at the bridal shop to Gran. Shocked hardly described her reaction.

"Sookie, you know I would never encourage you to ruin someone else's life, right?"

"Yep, I know. You've taught me better than that." I was slightly afraid of what she was going to say next.

She reached over and grabbed my hand with her left and Amelia's with her right. She gave both of our hands a squeeze and said, "Girls, I want you to do everything in your power to prevent this wedding from happening. I loved that young man like he was my own and I will _not_ see him marry some rich bitch that will surely ruin him."

"Gran, you have no idea how bad this girl is. She is terrible. You would have smacked her silly if you'd been there. You know… you like to think that the girl your ex is with is a horrible person. You use that to make yourself feel better. It's a natural human response. But, Sophie Anne? She _is_ that bad. She's worse than bad. She's the spawn of Satan himself!" She reached over, patted my hand and gave me and Amelia an evil smile. That smile told me I _was_ doing the right thing. I'd never felt more excited in my entire life. This whole wedding stopping business might be more fun that I'd ever imagined!

Amelia, Gran and I spent the rest of the afternoon and night in the living room watching _Wedding Crashers_, _Runaway Bride_, and _Sweet Home Alabama_. I know, I know, but I needed some inspiration and I also needed a good laugh. I may or may not have eaten an entire gallon of ice cream by myself (which I knew I'd regret tomorrow when I actually _had_ to run in order to fit into that dress in two weeks). But, tonight I was just going to enjoy myself. I'd worry about all of the details tomorrow.

A/N: Okay… so we're getting _very_ close to the BIG DAY! You getting excited? I am!

I just want each and every one of you to know that I appreciate your positive comments more than I could ever express in words. I have a renewed passion to write and to finish this story as it was originally intended.

To Belleviolette: There are no words, girl! Really. If I can catch ASkars for you… he's all yours! ;) I hope this chapter is everything you hoped to inspire me to create! Sweaty Straw Dog Skars hugs for you!


	8. Chapter 8

Don't Say Yes

AU/ AH/ OOC

Chapter 8

SPOV

When Elle arrived home from New Orleans with Sophie Anne, I could tell something was amiss. She was not her usual overbearing self; she did not bark orders at me the minute she entered the house; she was actually quiet, like she was deep in thought. An Elle that is deep in thought is _not _a good Elle. When she thinks too much very, very bad things happen. The last time she thought this hard, she managed to keep Sookie and Eric apart. It made me wonder exactly what happened while she and the bride-to-be were out shopping today.

Neither one of them said a word to me as they entered the kitchen. I had just finished my evening coffee and was about to retire to my study when they arrived home. I decided to stay seated and pretend to sip my non-existent coffee. I needed to observe the situation to see if something had (hopefully) gone terribly wrong between the two of them. But, Sophie was acting just like the self-centered, obnoxious, rude, loud, pompous, demanding, Elle doppelganger I had grown to hate. This set-off major alarm bells in my head. What had happened in New Orleans? My mind immediately went to Sookie. Did Elle run into Sookie? Or did she run into Amelia? Either way, I might have a disaster on my hands.

My questions were quickly answered when I overheard Sophie Anne chattering away about the "chubby blond" and how she "just couldn't believe Eric would ever date someone _so_ beneath him." I had to quickly retreat to my study after hearing her speak so ill of Sookie; the girl did not even know her, and she would never hold a candle to Sookie's unassuming, good-natured personality. I really, really hoped these things were not said in Sookie's presence. I could not imagine she would have allowed someone to speak to her so rudely.

After I heard Elle walk Sophie out, I realized that her footsteps were headed in my direction. I was very glad I had poured myself a double of Jack upon entering my office. I quickly took a long sip and readied myself for whatever my darling wife had in store for me this fine evening.

"Stellan? Are you in here?" Elle asked, as she pushed open the heavy oak doors that usually kept her out of my life.

"You know I am, Elle. Please do come in. What can I do for you this evening?" She stood right inside the doors with a look of utter disgust on her face. She always hated being in my personal space.

"Why would you assume that I need you to do anything for me?"

"How many times have you entered my study in the past thirty years, Elle?"

"I see your point. Fine. Then yes, I do have a favor for you."

"Well, would you like to join me?" I asked, as I motioned for her to sit in one of the leather chairs across from my desk.

"No. That is quite alright. This will not take long. The reporter? The friend of Senator Carmichael's daughter." Just as I suspected, she was onto me. Onto us. Heaven help us all.

"Yes?"

"I would like for her, the journalist of course – not the daughter, to attend the rehearsal dinner. I need someone to cover the evening's events. I do not want to miss one part of our son's wedding. I want the entire thing documented in photos and newspaper articles. Would you mind contacting the daughter to check and see if her friend is available the night before the wedding?"

"Not at all dear." What else was I supposed to say? I needed to think of a way out of this and fast.

"Place the call now. I do not want this on my conscious while I am attempting to sleep tonight. I do not need to add one more thing to the laundry list of concerns I have about this upcoming wedding."

"Do you not think it is a little late to…"

"No. I do not. She _is_ a college girl, correct? Call her. Now." I am typically not the type of person to cuss. I actually cannot recall the last time I did. But right now? Right now, I wanted to just scream _FUCK!_ It seemed like the only appropriate word to use at the moment. I kept that thought to myself and opened the top right drawer of my desk. I shuffled through the papers, for effect, and found the one with Amelia Broadway's number on it. I picked up the phone on my desk and dialed her number. I hoped and prayed that she answered and that Sookie did not. I also hoped that the tone of my voice told her more than I could actually communicate with Elle hovering around.

The phone rang and rang, and finally I heard her voicemail and thanked the lord above that I did not have to actually speak to her.

"Miss Broadway, this is Mr. Northman, Stellan Northman. My wife requested that I phone you to ask a favor of your friend, the photojournalist, who is accompanying you to the wedding. Mrs. Northman would like her to cover the rehearsal dinner. Please speak with your friend and give me a call back at this number. We look forward to hearing from you."

"Thank you, Stellan. Please let me know when you hear from her."

"You are welcome. Goodnight, Elle."

E*S*E*S*E*S*E*S*E*S*E*S

_Friday – Rehearsal Dinner_

Even though the wedding was being held at our estate, Elle insisted that we host the rehearsal dinner here as well. She swore it would be more convenient for our out of town guests; never mind the _inconvenience_ it would be for her own family. But, she always did consider the comfort of others above everything and everyone else. Consequently, I awoke Friday morning to the shrill sound of my wife's voice barking orders in the foyer of our home. The sound echoed off the marble floors and high ceilings; it was loud enough to wake the dead. At barely five and a half feet tall, Elle Northman was quite formidable. What she lacked in stature, she easily made up for with her commanding personality.

Normally, her voice irritated me beyond words, but today I was giddy with anticipation. The big day was almost here. Tomorrow, I will stand next to my son at the altar as his best man. I will proudly watch as the woman he _truly_ loves stops him from making the biggest mistake of his life. Then, I will intercept his would-be bride and her pretentious family, in addition to my shrieking wife, to allow Eric and Sookie enough time to escape the madness that I am sure will ensue.

The anticipation of tomorrow will hopefully provide me with enough energy to survive this ridiculous rehearsal dinner. I have never been one for entertaining guests, but I have made due throughout the years simply to appease my wife. Tonight will be the _last_ dinner I pretend to enjoy.

After I dressed for the evening, I made my way downstairs and quickly snuck into my sanctuary, quietly closing the door behind me. I did not even see Eric lying on the leather sofa until I made my way to the bar to pour myself yet another double of Jack. This woman was turning me into an alcoholic. I had not had this much to drink in years.

"Son? What are you doing in here?"

"Hiding."

"From?" I knew the answer, but I needed to hear it. I wanted to hear it.

"Elle. She's really lost it today. I can't even imagine what she's going to be like tomorrow."

"Ah, yes. You know your mother takes great pride in her dinner parties and this is the pinnacle of all dinner parties. Would you like a drink?"

"Yes. I think I could use one. I'm not sure how I'm going to survive the next two days."

I poured Eric a double, and then crossed the room to sit down in one of the leather wingbacks perpendicular to the sofa. Eric was almost finished with his drink before I even sat down. There were so many emotions crossing his face it was hard for me to decipher them all, but the one that was most apparent was doubt. He still doubted his upcoming marriage. Excellent. It would not take much to push him right into Sookie's open arms.

Speaking of Sookie, I never heard back from Amelia and I took that as a good sign. She seemed to be quite a flighty girl, but I knew she had Sookie's best interest at heart. Hopefully, she was able to find someone to fill in for her tonight. I knew that if anyone could take care of finding another female reporter it would be Miss Broadway. After all, being a Senator's daughter did have its perks.

Eric and I were interrupted from our peaceful silence by my _lovely_ wife.

"Stellan, Eric the guests are beginning to arrive. It would be nice if the two of you would stop drinking yourselves silly and greet them. Eric, your future wife is here. Go to her. We are receiving guests in the foyer, Stellan. Now move. Both of you. You act like this is just another dinner party. I do not need to remind you both that this is _the_single most important party of our lives. I would appreciate you both being on your best behavior this evening."

I tossed back the rest of my drink, took a deep breath and stepped out into the hallway to be a "good little husband" for the very last time.

EPOV

I still couldn't believe the night before my wedding had arrived. I think I was in some sort of shock, which made no sense. Wasn't I supposed to be happy? Wasn't I supposed to enjoy being surrounded by our friends and family? Instead, I was very close to losing my shit right here in the foyer of my own home. I had never seen so many people in my entire life. Half of them were complete strangers to me. This was not how I thought my wedding would be. It was ridiculous.

Sophie Anne and I stood in the foyer, for god knows how long greeting people, introducing ourselves (yes, we had to introduce ourselves to guests at our _own_ rehearsal dinner). Soph was cut out for this type of thing though; this was her element. She smiled and waved and spoke to every single person that came through my front door. I stood back in awe at how well-trained she was. For some reason, her flawless etiquette put a bad taste in my mouth. It was almost fake. Not almost, it was. She was too well-trained.

I took a step back to observe the activity. I looked at my father. He stood right behind my mother with the same bored, tired look my face probably displayed. Then, I looked at my mother. She and Sophie were both talking and smiling and obviously enjoying the celebrity. I'd never noticed just how similar they were until that exact moment. I felt a chill rise up my spine as the realization hit me like a tidal wave.

Sookie would have been polite; she would have greeted everyone with her natural southern charm. She would have smiled and laughed, but it would have been genuine; it would never have been forced. She would have been slightly uncomfortable with this much attention. She would have… Why was I thinking about Sookie? Why was I once again comparing her to Sophie? Why was I torturing myself by imagining her with me instead of my fiancé? Wait… torturing myself? I felt nauseous. I saw there was a lull in the guests, so I told Sophie that I needed a drink. She gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek, which was definitely not a Sophie thing to do; nothing about her was gentle. Was she acting? Was this an act? Who was she really? Suddenly my head was spinning. I wanted out.

I took off down the hallway, past the dining room that housed many of our guests and I almost made it to the back door when I was stopped by a young girl with a huge camera slung around her neck. I had to assume she was one of the many reporters Elle had solicited to cover the wedding.

"Eric Northman?"

"Yes. Listen, I hate to be rude, but I really, really need a drink and some fresh air, so if you'll just excuse me," I said, as I attempted to push past her.

"Mind if I join you?"

Who in the hell did this reporter think she was? All I wanted to do was get the hell outside. I just shrugged and said, "I guess not." I was hoping she could take a hint. I really just wanted to be alone.

"Thanks." That voice… where had I heard that voice before? I didn't know anyone with hair that shade of red though. Soph's was a natural red, and this, this was definitely not natural.

"Do I know you?"

"Let's take a walk outside. It's a good thing I'm a _reporter_. It will look like I'm out here interviewing you. People actually might leave you alone." Interesting. She was _acting_ like a reporter.

"Good point. Thanks. I guess, I owe you one."

Once we were outside and out of earshot, the "reporter" took out a tape recorder from her messenger bag and pretended to press the record button. If anyone inside happened to glance out it would definitely look like an interview.

"We've met before," the mystery reporter whispered.

"I knew your voice sounded familiar. How do I know you?"

"I'm a friend of Sookie's." Sookie. That name. There was that name again. Fuck me. I just couldn't get away from her tonight, could I?

Then, it hit me. This was Sookie's roommate. "Amelia?"

"Yep, I'm glad you couldn't tell it was me. Whew! I barely made it past your mother and Sophie Anne."

I almost laughed out loud at her disguise now that I knew who she was. She was obviously wearing a wig. It was really long and really curly and very red. She was wearing very thick, black rimmed glasses and she was dressed in something my kindergarten teacher would have worn. It was a black jumper of sorts. It looked like she was wearing a giant trash-bag.

"You look… if I hadn't heard your voice I would have never known it was you. Why are you here… pretending to be a reporter? What's going on?"

"Just doing a favor for a friend, Eric. Nothing you need to worry about." She gave me a wink, patted my arm and then disappeared before I could question her any further. Pretending to be a reporter? For a friend? What the hell? Something was definitely going on. What was she up to?

Unfortunately, I didn't have long to think about any of this; I could hear Sophie Anne calling my name. It was time for dinner. Great.

"Eric, my dear, are you feeling better? You looked rather pale."

"Yes, thank you. I just got a little too hot," I said, as I loosened my tie a bit.

"It was rather warm in there. I've never been more thankful to be a woman in my entire life. This little dress is quite cool." She said things like that when she was fishing for a complement. How had I not realized that before now? She did look sexy as hell though, I'd give her that. Although, maybe a little too sexy. She was wearing a white (of all colors) strapless dress that was so fitted that I could tell, as could everyone else, that she had _nothing_ on underneath it. I decide to take the bait, because I didn't really want to find out what happened when I didn't. Wait…huh?

"You look beautiful, Soph. A vision in white."

"As do you, my darling fiancé." Dear? Darling? She was using the same meaningless pet names my mother used for my father.

Sophie looped her arm through mine and then, we proceeded to walk into the large dining room together. There were at least sixty people seated at ten different round tables all decorated in either daffodil or lavender (I _did not_ choose our colors. Personally, I thought the combination was hideous, but no one asked me). We had our own little table for two placed at the head of the room by the large fire place. The only time I was okay with being the center of attention was before, during or after a football game. I was _definitely_ not okay with this. The room grew silent as our guests watched us walk to the table. There were camera flashes and murmurs of "they're beautiful," "their children will be perfect," "they look so in love," etcetera, etcetera. I wasn't sure about any of those things. Did we really look like we were so "in love"?

After everyone was finished eating and all of the plates were cleared it was time for our toasts. Apparently, it was customary for Sophie and me to thank our attendants at the rehearsal dinner. I wasn't up on wedding protocol, so I did as I was told and quickly scribbled down a few things to say when I woke up this morning. Everyone that knew me knew I was a man of few words and that I hated public speaking. I was _not_ about to stand up and spill my guts like I was sure Sophie was about to do. Women.

Right after that thought crossed my mind, I heard Sophie push her chair back and walk to the table that held our attendants. We each had five, which shocked me; I'd assumed that Sophie would want at least ten, but this was the one thing, the _only _thing, she'd kept small. She only wanted her closest friends as her bridesmaids. And apparently, everyone had to be a size six. No bigger, no smaller. She was a two and she wanted to look as thin as possible on our wedding day. Now that I thought it about it, that was ridiculous. Did all brides act this way? Today was certainly a day of realizations for me.

I tried to look interested as Sophie thanked each of her bridesmaids with tears in her eyes, but each speech lasted about five minutes and I was having a very difficult time keeping myself from appearing as bored as I was. I'd apparently zoned out, because the next thing I knew Sophie was standing to my right with her hand on my shoulder. Shit, were we supposed to say something to each other? I hadn't even considered that.

"Eric, from the moment I met you, I knew that you were the one for me. You are everything I have ever wanted in a man, a husband, and one day a father."

Just the thought of having kids with her made me want to… made me want to what? What the hell? Shouldn't I want to have kids with my wife?

"The past two years have been the best of my life and I cannot wait to spend many, many more with you."

Many? How long is "many"?

"I love you Eric Northman and I am so excited to marry you tomorrow in front of all of our friends and family. Tomorrow, everyone will know that you are mine and no one else's."

The way she said "mine" made me shudder.

"No one will ever take you from me, especially that hillbilly blond that you dated in high school."

Wait, how did she know Sookie? My face must have shown the shock I felt, because she immediately attempted to backtrack. The look on my mother's face was one of both pleasure and horror. What the fuck was going on?

"Oh my! Did I just say that? I'm sorry. It must've just slipped out. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, I love you Eric and I cannot wait to be Sophie Anne Leclerq-Northman tomorrow. That sounds so good, doesn't it, dear?"

Again, with the "dear" shit.

"On behalf of myself and Eric, I want to thank all of our guests that are here with us tonight. Finally, we also want to thank our parents. Without your support and money we would have never gotten to this day."

Money? Did she just thank our parents for their money? Who the fuck was I marrying? My head was spinning. I was so lost in my own thoughts that I didn't even realize Sophie was kissing me until she pulled back and whispered, "You're supposed to kiss me back, _fiancé_, our guests are watching." I barely pressed my lips to hers. This kiss was just enough to put on a good show, and then I stood up and walked out of the room.

I didn't get very far.

"Eric Northman! You get back in there! I don't know what has gotten into you tonight, but this is no way to act at your rehearsal dinner."

I didn't respond to Elle, I just kept walking. I walked until I reached the garage. I got in my car, started it and took off down the driveway. I wasn't going anywhere in particular, but I had to get out. I had to get away. I was so lost in thought that I barely missed all of the cars that lined the driveway. So much had happened tonight. I realized that Sophie was my mother (only thirty years younger), for some reason Amelia was at the rehearsal dinner posing as a reporter, and Sophie had apparently met Sookie. How had I missed that? When had it happened? What did she _say_ to Sookie? It had to have been a disaster. I can't imagine that Sophie had _anything_ nice to say to her. I hope she didn't upset her. The thought of Sookie crying because of my fiancé made me want to punch someone.

It was then that it hit me like a massive ton of bricks.

I had to pull over.

I was gasping for air.

I was still in love with Sookie. I had always been in love with Sookie. I never stopped. The four years didn't make a damn difference. The distance didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Only her. It was always her. She was it. I was about to marry my mother. How had I allowed my life to get this crazy? But, now that I realized all of this, what the hell was I going to do? Drive back home, walk through the front door and call this whole thing off? Nope. Wouldn't work. Sophie and Elle would somehow convince me that I was just nervous. I would probably get suckered into this entire charade yet again. So what was I going to do?

As I lifted my head from its resting place on my steering wheel, I heard my iPod playing a song I hadn't heard in a few years.

_Memories back when she was bold and strong_

_And waiting for the world to come along_

_Swears she knew, now she swears he's gone_

_She lies and says she's in love with him, can't find a better man_

_She dreams in color, she dreams in red, can't find a better man_

_She lies and says she still loves him, can't find a better man_

_She dreams in color, she dreams in red, can't find a better man_

_Can't find a better man_

But, I could find a better person to marry. She was only a couple of hours away. She was in Baton Rouge curled up on her right side in a ratty t-shirt and plaid pajama pants. Her right arm was tucked up under her chin. Her blond hair was spilling over her pillow, gleaming in the moonlight peaking through her window. Her long, dark lashes were resting on her beautiful cheeks and her mouth was open slightly as she breathed in and out. I should be there with her, curled around her warm, familiar body, not here in my car on the side of the road about to have a nervous breakdown about my pending nuptials.

What was I going to do? It had to be something big; bigger than walking into the house and calling the whole thing off. That would never work. Suddenly, the words "speak now or forever hold your peace" crossed my mind. It was probably not something that happened very often, but it would work. That's exactly what I would do. No one could object to that. No one would force me to marry Sophie Anne if I objected to it myself. I knew Dad would support me and he'd be the one standing there with me tomorrow.

I had to get back to the house though. I had to calm down and make everyone think things were just as they should be. I laughed out loud at that. Little did they know.

As I made my way back to the house, I didn't even care if Sookie didn't love me back. If she didn't want to attempt to have a relationship with me, fine. But, I had to do this for me. It had been years since I'd done anything for myself. I was not going to force myself to marry someone like my mother. I never wanted a relationship like my parents had. Never. It was not what I wanted out of life. Why did it take me this long to put all of this together? I'd never know, but I was just thankful I had.

When I got back home, Sophie Anne was sitting at the foot of the steps in the foyer sobbing hysterically. She was a mess. I had to bite my cheeks to prevent myself from laughing. She was the most ridiculous woman I'd ever met. I walked over to her and sat next to her on the steps. She immediately started apologizing for anything and everything she could think of. I hushed and told her not to worry, everything would be just fine. Yes, everything would be just fine.

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out to you. This chapter was hard to write. Everything had to be perfect. I wrote this chapter, erased it, wrote it, and erased it… you get the idea. I hope it was worth the wait!

We are almost there… it's almost wedding TIME! (Insert maniacal laugh here)

Thanks to Belleviolette for being my partner in Skarsporn, and my speedy pre-reader, beta extraodinare.


	9. Chapter 9

Don't Say Yes

AU/ AH/ OOC

Chapter 9

_Wedding Day – Baton Rouge_

SPOV

When I awoke the day of Eric's wedding, I was oddly calm. This was a very strange feeling for me – this calm thing. A month ago just thinking about this day made me feel like I was going to be sick. Heck, even last week I could barely stomach it without getting those damned butterflies in my stomach that actually felt more like a colony of angry bees. But, today? Right this minute? I'd never felt better. I was ready for this day. And, I was prepared to deal with whatever this day had in store for me. For us.

Physically, I'd never looked or felt better. Amelia and I had spent countless hours in the sun and my summer tan was now the perfect shade of golden brown. Somehow, I'd also gotten suckered into going to the gym. Working out was never my idea of a good time, but I _was_ thankful that my stomach and butt were definitely a little firmer (I did have an extremely fitted red dress to cram myself into). In addition to my tan and workout regimen, Amelia and I'd visited the salon a few days ago and I'd gotten my hair trimmed and highlighted. And even though I was hesitant at first, I allowed Amelia to talk me into getting a few shorter pieces cut to frame my face. She thought it made me look really sexy, and I guess I had to agree with her.

Once I was finished perfecting everything I could about my appearance, I had to work on how I felt on the inside. I really had to get my brain and my heart on the same page. My brain was well aware that I was about to crash the wedding of my ex-boyfriend. An ex-boyfriend who had left my apartment after realizing that talking to me was not a good idea; an ex-boyfriend who I hadn't spoken to since that night. But, this ex-boyfriend was the same person that I loved above everyone else; the same person that I _never_ stopped caring about. And, that was where my heart came in. My heart had always known; it had always been on board. I knew in my heart that I couldn't stand idly by and watch as the love of my life married someone who didn't deserve him. And after our brief interaction in the bridal shop, I was absolutely one hundred percent positive that the evil, red-headed, vicious, she-devil did _not_ deserve to marry one of the most generous, caring, loving people I'd ever had the pleasure of knowing.

After considering every side of this soap opera of a life I'd gotten myself into, I knew I was doing the right thing. If we didn't end up together, fine. If he didn't choose me, fine. But, I had to know. I had to know if we still had a chance. And, unfortunately there was only one way to do it. I was going to have to stop this wedding.

Feeling giddy with excitement, I finally got out of bed and went into the bathroom to start getting ready for the day. As I was washing my hair, I began to wonder where in the hell Amelia was. I knew she'd gotten home really late last night from her date with Tray, but I figured she'd be knocking my door down by now. This was the type of drama that girl lived for. She always loved a good scandal, and she'd have a front row seat for this one.

Speak of the devil, "Sookie? Good, you're already in the shower. Make sure you shave. You don't want Eric feeling you up for the first time in four years with prickly legs." Of course she'd be worried about sex of all things. She wasn't worried about _me,_ and how I was going to survive this day. She was worried about Eric feeling my hairy legs.

"God Amelia. Really? I haven't seen him in four years. I doubt we'll even kiss. And even if we do happen to get lost in the moment, I am _not_ having sex with him tonight. Heck, I'm not even stepping one foot off of home plate!"

"Whatever, girl. You want me to rescue him from bridezilla instead? I'll sleep with him. The guy is an Adonis. You should have seen him all dressed up in his suit…" Wait, when had she _ever_ seen Eric in a suit?

"Amelia. You've never seen him in a suit. What the hell?"

"The engagement announcement? In the newspaper? Remember? He _was_ wearing a suit."

"Oh, yeah. You're right. He was." Her clipped wording was a sure sign that she wasn't telling me the truth, but I decided to let it go for now. I'm sure whatever she was up to would all be revealed in good time. Well, wasn't this just going to be a day full of revelations.

"Okay, well you finish your shower. I'm gonna fix us some breakfast and then we'll get you ready. I'm doing your hair and make-up, remember?"

"How could I forget? You've been reminding me for weeks."

"Oh, right. Okay. You don't have to be so snippy."

"Sorry, Ames. I guess its nerves." It totally _wasn't_ nerves. I wasn't nervous; I was curious. The suit thing was going to bother me until I figured it out. And, I was going to figure it out.

I joined Amelia at our breakfast table after I was finished with my shower. She remained completely silent the entire time we ate. Every time I looked up to say something to her, she had something in her mouth. She was totally avoiding talking to me. Whatever, I had bigger fish to fry today, and those fish were named Sophie Anne and Elle.

Two cups of coffee and a bagel later, I was ready for "Salon de Amelia."

"Alright girl, are you ready to go from plain Jane to sexy Senorita?" Amelia asked as I sat down at the vanity in my bedroom.

"Yes ma'am. Let's do this."

"Okay, well put your back to the mirror missy. I don't want you watching and critiquing while I work my magic."

"What? Nuh-uh. No way. Sorry. Ain't gonna happen." Amelia put her hand over her heart and acted like I'd mortally wounded her.

"You don't trust me. I'm hurt, Sookie. Really."

With a huge sigh I let out a "fine." Immediately she spun me around to face the wall for the next hour or so. Who knows? I totally lost track of time. As the minutes ticked by I became more and more nervous. What was she doing to me? Did I really require _this _much work?

After an inordinate amount of time _not_ looking in the mirror, my roommate and best friend finally let me admire her handy-work. What I saw when I looked in the mirror was shocking. I hadn't looked this good in… well… maybe I'd never looked this good. Amelia had taken small sections of my hair and painstakingly curled each one creating soft loose waves that framed my face. My make-up was soft and perfect with very little eye shadow, black eyeliner and a light blush. I didn't really need heavy make-up with the bright red lipstick she'd chosen. I looked like I'd just stepped out of a fashion magazine. And I felt great. I wanted to cry, but didn't want to mess up all of Amelia's hard work.

"From the silence and the way your mouth is hanging open, I'm guessing that you like it?"

I jumped up and hugged her saying, "Amelia… it's beautiful. Truly. There are no words. Thank you."

"Well don't cry, girl. We don't wanna mess-up this masterpiece. Now, I need to go get myself ready and _you_ need to get dressed. I'll see you in a few."

After Amelia and I were both dressed and ready, we climbed into her BMW and headed for Bon Temps. We stopped for lunch along the way; we were in no hurry to get there. The plan was to show up right before the ceremony started. We didn't want anyone to see me before the wedding actually started. I was well aware of what would happen if Elle or Sophie Anne happened to see me. I'd be kicked out on my ass before I ever got to see Eric, and that just wasn't an option. I'd been through too much for this day to end before it began.

Stellan had contacted Amelia a few days ago to give her more details about the wedding. The ceremony was going to be held outside just as I'd expected. Apparently, an elaborate gazebo had been constructed off to the right of the pool in the English garden portion of the Northman estate. The bridal party would exit the house through the French doors leading out to the pool, make their way through the garden and arrive in an open field where the 500 guests would be seated. I knew the property very well, so Ames and I would wait until most of the guests were seated, sneak through the garden, and seat ourselves somewhere in the middle. I was wearing bright red to a seven o'clock wedding; I was well aware that most of the guests would be in black. Bottom line? I was going to stick out like a sore thumb. But, oh well. There was no turning back now.

E*S*E*S*E*S*E*S*E*S*E*S*E*S

_Wedding Night – Bon Temps_

As we pulled onto the long drive leading up to the house where I'd spent so many years, I was overcome with emotion. I _had_ to keep it together though. This was not the time to cry. I could cry later. Amelia, thankfully, brought me out of my melancholic state when she started freaking out about the décor.

"Sookie! Earth to Sookie! Would you _look_ at this place?"

How could you miss it? It was magnificent. It took my breath away. I was almost jealous that this wasn't my wedding. It was a fairytale. An honest to god Disney movie come to life. The trees that lined the long driveway were painstakingly strung with millions of twinkling white lights. The pathway leading up to the house had been re-graveled with pastel colored sea glass. The two story porch of the giant white colonial home housed giant candlelit lanterns placed every three feet or so, and each lantern was adorned with either a daffodil or lavender bow. The same lanterns were placed on the steps leading up to the porch, but the sizes got larger as you ascended the large welcoming staircase.

"It's beautiful, Amelia. It really is. I still hate the colors, but you have to admit this is pretty amazing," I said, as we pulled into a parking space towards the end of the driveway. We were supposed to allow the valet to park us, but we didn't need that kind of exposure. Luckily, the make-shift parking lot was already full, so no one noticed us sneaking in.

"Yes it is, but don't let the beauty distract you. Behind all of these elaborate decorations are two of the most manipulative women I've ever met and that's saying a lot coming from me. I used to run with these people, Sookie. Elle and Sophie Anne are in an entirely different category. They make Britney Spears' head shaving incident look sane."

After I stopped laughing at the image of Elle and Sophie with shaved heads I said, "Ames, you know I love you right? I couldn't do this without you. You've been my partner in crime through this entire thing and I definitely wouldn't have gotten to this point without you."

She reached across the car and wrapped her arms around my neck. I gave her a good hard squeeze back and then with a simultaneous, "let's do this," we got out of her car and carefully walked towards the front of the house.

We reached the garden area about ten minutes before the ceremony. I peered over one of the tall hedges to assess the seating situation. I wanted to determine where we would sit before we headed into the lion's den. The last thing I needed was to draw extra attention to myself. As I looked out over the crowd, I could see that the guests were, as I'd assumed, all wearing black or some other very dark color. Hell, Amelia was even wearing black. I was the only one in a fire engine red dress with shoes and lipstick to match. Yep, I was definitely a sore thumb. There was no way Eric would miss me and that was the point, wasn't it?

Once I'd found two seats in the middle of the groom's side (I didn't feel right sitting on the bride's side for obvious reasons), I grabbed Amelia's hand and guided her out of our little hiding spot and into the open field. We were totally exposed now and I didn't like it one bit. I wanted to run to our seats, but I knew that would just draw more attention to us. When we were finally seated between two very large men, I breathed a sigh of relief. The first huge obstacle was out of the way. We were safely seated and pretty well hidden.

The sound of the string quartet playing _Canon in D_ signaled the start of the ceremony. The groomsmen were escorting the mothers in first. Mrs. Leclerq was just a beautiful as her daughter with her pale skin and deep red hair. She was dressed in a tea-length lavender silk shantung strapless dress. I thought it was a little too revealing for the mother of the bride, but this wasn't my wedding.

The next person to walk down the aisle was Elle Northman. I hated to admit it, but she looked really, really pretty and the smile she was wearing was genuine (it occurred to me that I'd never seen her _truly_ smile before… so that's what it looked like!). Her dress was a little more conservative than Mrs. Leclerq's, but it was the same lavender color. It was a fitted floor-length gown that slightly flared at the bottom. It had very delicate capped sleeves and a square neck-line. Her beautiful blond bob was perfectly styled; not a hair was out of place. Both of the future mothers-in-law carried delicate yellow rose bouquets with small lavender pearls placed throughout. Everything was yellow and purple. Everything. It looked like an LSU football game, only the colors were muted. Maybe she should have gone with blue and orange for FU. Amelia shot me a quizzical look and I forced myself to suppress my nervous giggles.

The quartet paused briefly and then began playing _Ode to Joy_. And holy shit, that's when I saw him. Eric. He took my breath away in his non-traditional khaki suit, lavender shirt, and coordinating tie. No one else could pull off lavender, but damn it all to hell, he definitely could. His blond hair was a little longer than the last time I saw him and I had to wonder if it was intentional (he knew I loved his long hair). He had the slightest shadow of scruff on his face. He looked positively edible. This whole wedding stopping thing was going to be a lot easier than I thought.

Eric was the first one down the aisle, followed by Stellan, and four very large, very muscular starting linemen for Florida. I held my breath as I watched them all line up to the right of the gazebo. Oh my god, this was it.

Amelia and I exchanged a glance as the song changed to _Sheep May Safely Graze_. The bridesmaids were now walking down the aisle in knee-length, strapless, daffodil dresses with a big lavender sash tied tightly around each of their waists. Their bouquets were lavender and yellow roses with hints of pale greenery throughout. Every single one of them had their hair securely fastened in a French twist, which made them all look a little severe. I couldn't help thinking that was exactly what the _lovely_ bride had in mind. Sophie Anne wouldn't want any of them to outshine her on her own wedding day. Too bad she was about to upstaged by a _rotund_ blond in a show-stopping red dress.

Speak of the devil herself, the traditional wedding march began, alerting all of the guests that the bride was about to make her grand entrance. Amelia and I locked hands once again as we stood to watch the "Queen B" walk down the aisle. When she passed our row, I finally got a good look at her. She was nothing less than stunning. Her dress had to cost a small fortune. It was white lace and extremely fitted with a sweetheart neckline. The entire dress was covered in tiny pearls and rhinestones, which were probably Swarovski crystals, and the train was at least five feet in length. Sophie Anne's beautiful red hair was down and curled very similarly to mine. She wore a very simple veil that was outlined in the same lace, pearls and crystals that adorned her dress. Even though I hated her with a burning passion, I had to admit she was a beautiful bride. A hideous, nasty, spiteful, bitch, but beautiful nonetheless.

All of the guests sat down again at the request of the preacher and holy shit, it was show time. I couldn't stop my entire body from shaking. I had no idea when my big moment was going to come. I just kept taking very deep breaths and probably squeezing Amelia's hand so hard it would require reconstructive surgery.

The preacher began and I'm pretty sure I completely stopped breathing.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered together in the sight of God, and in the face of this company of witnesses to join together Eric Alexander Northman and Sophie Anne Leclerq in Holy Matrimony; which is an honorable estate, instituted of God, signifying unto us the mystical union that is between Christ and His Church; which Holy Estate Christ adorned with His presence and first miracle that He wrought in Cana of Galilee, and is commended of St. Paul to be honorable among all men; and therefore, not entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, soberly and in the fear of God. Into this Holy Estate these two persons present come now to be joined.

"If any man can show just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him speak now or forever hold his peace."

On very shaky legs, still holding Amelia's hand, I stood. And just as I was about to say "I object," Eric walked forward and his eyes met mine. I heard a gasp from Elle, who had apparently followed Eric's line of sight directly to me. There was so much hatred in her eyes, but I didn't care. My eyes were immediately locked back on Eric who was slowly moving in my direction. Oh my god! Was he leaving his own wedding for _me_?

I didn't have to wait long for an answer.

"Sir, I object."

He looked completely taken aback. "You object to your own marriage, son?"

Eric looked to the preacher and said, "Yes sir, I do." And then he turned to his would-be bride, "Sophie Anne, I cannot marry you. I'm in love with someone else and she's standing right there." He was pointing to me. Me! I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I'm pretty sure Amelia said, "Go to him, Sookie," but I was already out of our row and headed in his direction. Somehow I was moving. My brain was not connected with my body. I was on complete autopilot.

I didn't make it all the way to him though. The silence was broken by a seriously pissed off Sophie Anne, "You stupid, fat, ugly, bitch!" Wow, I think she covered just about everything with that insult, but she wasn't finished with me yet.

"You think you can come in here and ruin _my_ wedding day. You're nothing but a no good piece of white trash. Who do you think you are? You will not do this to me! I won't allow it! Eric, why would you want _that_ when you already have _me_?" Because I'm not a lying manipulative bitch? I thought it'd be best to just keep that one to myself.

Then it was Elle's turn. I was wondering what was taking her so long. I figured she'd be the first one to verbally assault me. But no, she walked up to Eric instead and very discreetly whispered, "If you do this to me, I will disown you. You will mean _nothing_ to me. Do you understand? _Nothing_. We were so close to getting everything we ever wanted. I will _not_ let you throw this all away on that no good piece on Bon Temps trash."

Wow, if Eric hadn't been looking at me with such love, I might have broken down on the spot, but I'd pretty much expected this. I'd actually had reoccurring nightmares about it. I'd known this scenario was a definite possibility. Sadly, I'd tried to come up with every possible combination of things they could call me before today so that I would be mentally prepared. I guess my preparation was a working, because somehow I stood there and I held my ground, keeping my eyes locked on Eric the entire time.

Finally, my knight in shining armor emerged from amongst the groomsmen. I was pretty sure our first son would be named Stellan. I owed all of my future happiness to him.

"That is quite enough Sophie Anne… Elle. I do believe Eric has spoken his peace. He has made himself very clear. He is still in love with Sookie and he does not want to continue with this ceremony. I believe the both of you have said enough."

Enter psychotic Elle. As much as she tried to keep her tirades hidden from her guests, I knew it was only a matter of time.

"Oh no! No! Not you too! You were behind this? You are _my_ husband! You were supposed to be on _my_ side. What do you think you are doing? I knew you were up to something with that little reporter nonsense. Is that how you got in, Sookie? Are you the reporter? I cannot believe this."

Apparently, the Leclerq's had seen quite enough of the real Elle Northman. Mr. Leclerq was in the process of herding both his wife and screaming daughter out of the public eye. I'm sure this was a PR nightmare for him. Mr. Leclerq may have been in public broadcasting, but I was sure he didn't want this story on the evening news. With all of the cameras and reporters present, this was sure to be the talk of the town for the next year.

Once Stellan had Elle contained, which was no easy feat, Eric was finally able to reach me. He walked up to me, took both of my hands in his and hesitantly asked, "So… you came here to stop my wedding, did you?"

I just nodded. I couldn't speak. I was too lost in the familiar warmth of his blue eyes. The next thing that happened sent shivers down my spine. He brought both of his hand up to my face, cupping my cheeks, angling my head up so that our mouths were just inches from each others. He looked deep into my tear-filled eyes, asking a silent question. I once again nodded, and then I felt the heat of his breath on my face, then the warmth of his lips pressed to mine. The simple contact wasn't enough for me, so I ghosted my tongue across his lips. He parted his lips for me and I moaned into his mouth. We were so lost in each other that it took a few minutes for the flashing lights and the sound of the clicking cameras to register.

"Hey Eric?" I whispered against his mouth.

"Mmmhmmm."

"Ummm… as much as I'm enjoying this, I think we're going to be on the front page of every newspaper from here to Jacksonville by tomorrow morning. You wanna go somewhere a little more private? We need to talk."

"Shit. You're right. I'm sorry. Let's go." With that, I was picked up bridal style and carried through the crowd of horrified wedding guests. I could hear the whispering, I could see the looks of absolute disgust on their faces, but I didn't give two shits. Nothing could wipe the smile from my face. Nothing.

EPOV

Funny how your plans can change at a moment's notice. When I woke up this morning, my plan was to stop this ridiculous ruse of a wedding and then head straight to Baton Rouge. I was then going to pour my heart out to Sookie and pray that she forgave me for all of the shit I'd put her through the past four years. What actually happened was so much better than what I'd imagined.

When the preacher said "speak now or forever hold your peace," I took a step forward, as planned, but then out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of red and blond. At first I thought I was hallucinating. Why would Sookie be here? Why would she be at _my_ wedding? All of my questions were answered when our eyes met. She was here for me. She was standing up for me. She got all dressed up in _the_ sexiest dress I'd ever seen to stop me from marrying Sophie Anne. I knew from that moment on that no matter what was said or done in the next few minutes, hours, or days, that I would be with her. She was it for me.

With my eyes locked on hers, the insults that were flying out of those two horrible bitches barely registered. I was so focused on Sookie that I didn't even care what was said. I was totally zoned out. It was like all of the hundreds of guests just disappeared and all that was left were me and _my_ Sookie. Yes, she was definitely mine and I was forever hers.

I saw my dad step forward and remove Elle, and then I saw Mr. Leclerq take his wife and daughter away and, hopefully, out of my life forever. Once the two psychos were removed I was finally able to get to Sookie. All I could think about was kissing her, so that's what I did. I put my hands on her beautiful face and just kissed her. The kiss was so familiar, so warm, and so right. I don't know how I'd managed to make it through the past four years without her. When she brushed her tongue gently against my lips, I was lost. I became completely consumed in her, so much so that I forgot we were surrounded by hundreds of very agitated wedding guests.

Sookie stopped our kiss to remind me that we were being watched and asked if we could take this someone more private. I was definitely on board with getting her alone, so I quickly whisked her up into my arms and carried her through the house and straight up to my bedroom. I knew this room housed too many memories for both of us, but it was the only place I knew we wouldn't be bothered.

I carried Sookie in and sat her down on the bed, quickly walked back to the door and locked it. I stood with my back to the door facing her. I did not want to crowd her. I knew she needed her space. Hell, if we were going to get any talking done at all, I'd need to stay as from away from her as possible. She was way too tempting in that dress. With each breath she took I watched her chest rise, revealing just a little more of her very tanned breasts. I was mesmerized by her.

"Sookie…"

"Eric…" we said, simultaneously.

"Ladies first. Please." I needed to hear what she had to say. I needed to know what she was thinking. I was pretty sure I could still read her, but I knew after our short meeting at her apartment that this was not the same shy, young girl that I'd once known so well. I hated that I questioned how well I knew her. I should never have allowed this to happen. Ever. I felt like a giant asshole.

"Where do I even start? There's so much to say. I just… I can't… I need a minute." Her elbows were resting on her knees and her face was buried in her hands. That beautiful blond hair that I loved so much was cascading over her arms. She was so beautiful. She literally took my breath away.

"You're so beautiful." Shit, apparently my brain-mouth filter was no longer working. She did have that effect on me. Always had.

She lifted her head and looked at me with tears in her eyes. "Huh? Where'd that come from?"

I couldn't handle being so far away from her; I closed the distance between us and knelt at her feet. "Well, you are."

"So are you."

"I am not beautiful. Men are _not_ beautiful, Sookie."

"Well, _you_ are. You are to me." She said, as she poked me in the chest. Our eyes met again and I was dying to kiss her. She licked her lips anticipating my next move and I did the same. She reached out and ran her hands through my hair and down the back of my neck, pulling my head into her stomach right under that gorgeous chest I was dying to get reacquainted with.

"Sorry, Eric. I've been dying to do that. Your hair's longer."

"I grew it out for you," I mumbled into her stomach.

"I kind of thought… that maybe you had. I always loved it long."

As I raised my head to look at her again, she pulled my face towards hers and gently, reverently kissed me. This was the way it should always be. There was no rush. We had all the time in the world. It was just her and me. Us. Always us.

I met her eyes again and whispered, "It's always been you, Sookie Stackhouse. No one after you ever compared. I'm just so sorry it's taken me this long to get my head out of my ass."

She laughed at me and it was the best sound I'd ever heard. I loved making her laugh. I loved her. I didn't care if it was too soon, I had to tell her. I pulled back slightly and she whimpered at our loss of physical contact, but I needed to make sure I had her full attention when I said this.

"I love you, Sookie. I love you. God, you have no idea how much I love you."

With tears in her eyes and a small smile on her lips she said, "Oh yeah, well I think I do. I love you. I always have. I never stopped. I wish I'd picked up the phone. I should have called. I should have emailed. Why were we so immature? Why did we do this to each other? Why were we so _stupid_, Eric? Why?"

Her voice was raised now, almost to the point of yelling. I was wondering when she was going to break down. I knew it was only a matter of time. I had to hold her. I didn't care if she didn't want me to. I _needed_ to.

I sat next to her on the bed and cautiously drew her into my lap. She tucked her head under my chin and I held her close to my chest as she sobbed. After a while, her breathing slowed down and she relaxed into me. She'd fallen asleep.

Very carefully, I picked her up and laid her down on my bed. I gently removed her shoes and then covered her up with the blanket that was draped over the foot of my bed. I didn't know if getting under the covers would freak her out too badly and the last thing I wanted to do was make her uncomfortable. After removing my jacket, tie, shirt and shoes, I got in bed behind her and pulled her back into my chest. I fell asleep that night enveloped in Sookie. My face was buried in her hair, my arms were securely fastened around her tiny body, and I knew without a doubt in my mind that today I'd made the right decision for the first time in years.

**A/N: So… what did you think? Don't worry about Elle and Sophie Anne…I'm not quite finished with them yet. I wanted this chapter to be about Eric and Sookie. I felt like they deserved it. **

**I know quite a few of you were pretty bothered by my portrayal of Eric, but remember this is AU, AH, and OOC. I didn't want to write the same BAMF that exists in every story. I wanted his personality to grow and change as the story progressed. BAMF Eric is back though and he is here to stay, so don't you worry! **

**I hope this was everything you'd hoped it would be and more. This chapter has been in my head since this story started. I literally had to make myself come to a stopping place, because I could have written forever. **

**Thank you MBK aka Belleviolette for all of your encouragement and support! This story would not exist in its current form if it wasn't for you. 6 foot 5 inch Hammarby Football cheering Skarshugs to YOU! XOXO**


	10. Chapter 10

Don't Say Yes

AU/ AH/ OOC

Chapter 10

**A/N: Hi. Remember me? It's been a while, huh? So in the past year I've had baby boy #2, started my Specialist degree in Educational Leadership, and taken on an Administration job online. So, yeah life's been busy, but I'm ready to write again and my muse wants to finish this story. If you're still here, thank you. If you sent me a PM checking on me, I appreciate it. If you're just now picking this up, I hope you like it! **

**This is the morning after the wedding and hopefully everything you've wanted it to be. HUGS and LOVE from the ridiculously hot state of GA. **

SPOV

I woke up in a strange, yet familiar room, with a very familiar, warm body wrapped tightly around me. The sun had just started to peek in behind the curtains, and everything at the Northman house was strangely quiet considering the major event that had happened the night before.

I still couldn't believe I'd done it; well technically, Eric had _really _done it. All I'd done was stand up in my look-at-me red dress and make eye contact with him. Eric had done the rest. My heart started pounding as the events from the night before replayed in my mind. Amelia and I had come to Eric's wedding to _stop_ his wedding and he'd come to me in front of all of his guests and kissed me and then carried me out of there like my own personal knight in shining armor.

The most important thing of all… he still loved me. He'd told me he loved me before I'd completely lost my mind and started crying and then I guess I must have passed out from sheer emotional exhaustion.

The sound of Eric's breathing changed, and I knew he was waking up. Funny after all this time, I still remembered the little sounds he made. He squeezed me tighter to him, and I turned my head to face him as much as I could.

I really wanted to kiss him, reach my hands behind us and squeeze his ass. I wanted to grind my ass into his morning wood, but I knew we had a lot to discuss before we went there. Lord knows once we went there, we'd never get anything accomplished. I'd promised myself I wouldn't allow us to fall into old habits before we determined where we really stood with each other. But, damn it, it was hard. Literally and figuratively.

Before I had too much time to overanalyze our situation Eric said, "Morning," in his adorable, scratchy morning voice.

"Morning," I replied on a sigh.

"What was that sigh for, Sookie? You okay?" Yep, I'm good. _Great_. Just beyond sexually frustrated, but I was not about to tell him that. He'd fix that issue in two point five seconds.

"Yep. Good. Fine." Time for a subject change. "So… did I really stop your wedding last night?" I asked, as I turned my body so I could face him. I could tell he wasn't buying the 'fine' comment, but that he was going to let it slide… for now.

"Ahh yes, it would appear so, but I think I'm the one that actually did the stopping. You just kind of helped me along." He smiled at me then, and leaned forward to kiss the tip of my nose.

"And now what do we do? I'm sure we left your poor father with a giant mess last night. I don't even want to know what happened after we disappeared." I turned in his arms to face him. I needed to see him. "Ya' know something? I'm really shocked we weren't bothered last night. I hope your dad didn't sell his soul to the devil to get us some alone time."

"Sook, he would do anything for you and apparently, anything for me. I think there's a lot you and dear old dad aren't telling me. What's happened since I saw you that night at your apartment? What have you been up to? And did you know –?

We were interrupted by a knock at the door. I knew we wouldn't be left alone for too long.

"Eric? Sookie? Is everyone decent?"

"Yes, Mr. Northman, please come in," I said, as I sat up in Eric's bed. I hadn't realized we had gone to bed completely clothed. Well weren't we mature all of a sudden? Or, I should say, Eric was mature. I really didn't have anything to do with our current state of dress.

Stellan entered the room with two giant mugs of coffee and a stack of papers tucked under his arm. He handed each of us one of the giant mugs. I held it up to my nose and inhaled the sweet aroma. He still remembered the way I took my coffee; wonderful, thoughtful man.

"Eric, I have something for you," Stellan said, as he handed over the stack of papers, which turned out to be envelopes; envelopes I immediately recognized as my own.

"What is it, Sookie? What's wrong? Do you…? Shit, are _these_ your cards?" Eric wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into his side. "Where did you find them, Dad?"

Stellan's face turned serious as he explained how he'd realized that my cards must have been intercepted by his conniving, meddling wife. He told us that after he spoke with me, he'd gone into her room and searched her drawers to discover all of the Christmas cards I'd sent the Northman family over the years; just as we'd suspected.

"Why did you wait until now to give them to me? Dad… I could've ended things with Sophie Anne _before_ the wedding, and saved everyone a great deal of drama in the process." Great question, Eric.

"Son, I knew that if you had seen these letters prior to the rehearsal dinner and the actual ceremony, you would have missed out on what I had been trying to get you to realize all along. I wanted you to see exactly who and what you were marrying and I knew if I had given you the letters you _may_, and I use that term very loosely, have always doubted your decision to end things with Miss LeClerq. I wanted you to end your engagement because of who _she _is, not because of what your mother did. You had to see for yourself that you were about to enter into the type of marriage your mother and I have, or maybe I should say had. I could not and would not let you do that. I knew, I just knew, that Sophie Anne's true nature would be revealed to you at the rehearsal, especially after she and your mother ran into Sookie at the bridal shop." Oh wow! Wow! He knew about that. Never underestimate Stellan Northman.

Eric then turned to me. "You saw Elle and Sophie at the bridal shop? Oh god Sook, I'm so sorry. I suspected as much after Sophie's little slip-up at the rehearsal dinner, but I had no idea how you'd actually met her."

"Yeah, that's a story for another day. Let's just leave that alone for now, okay? So, Mr. Northman, what happened after we left last night? Was it awful? We owe you, big time, by the way. Thanks for letting us escape."

"Anything for you, Sookie. You make Eric very happy and that's all a father could ask for." He winked at me then. I really, really loved that man; he was like a father to me. "Well, let's see where should I begin? Oh yes, well, my soon-to-be ex-wife had to be restrained and then escorted from the premises. The LeClerqs took off, as you both observed, and the guests either stayed to partake in would-be wedding festivities or left. It was really actually pretty uneventful with the exception of Elle."

"So, what happened to Elle, Dad?" I could hear the worry in Eric's voice, and it would have bothered me, but I was slightly concerned for her well-being too. She had always been a loose cannon just waiting to detonate.

"After your mother was subdued enough to communicate with me, she informed me that she would be staying with your Grandmother for the time being. I am positive that I will be served divorce papers shortly; either that or I will be serving her. It is rather odd to be so lackadaisical about divorcing Elle after all these years, but it is something I wish I had done many, many years ago. Enough about me though, it's time I took my leave. You two have quite a bit to discuss I'm sure. Enjoy your time together. You both know we will all be bombarded with media the minute we leave this house. Be advised."

With that Stellan walked out and closed the door behind him. Eric and I sat in silence for a while trying to digest everything we'd just learned. Honestly, I hadn't even considered the media being an issue until just now. I'd forgotten how high-profile Eric was now; being in his room, in his arms, had lulled me into a false sense of security. Stellan was right; our lives were about to take a turn for the insane, and we needed to be prepared.

EPOV

Sookie was the first one to break the silence that had crept into the room following my father's departure.

"Are you prepared for all of this, Eric? Do you think we can handle this? You do realize our entire lives are about to be under a microscope? I hadn't even considered that. What are we going to do?"

Everything Sookie'd just said had been on a constant loop in my brain since I woke-up this morning. She'd never been in the spotlight with me; she had no idea what she'd just gotten herself into. I hoped we could make it through this. I hoped with everything I had she would be able to accept this new lifestyle, because it was so far from what she was used to.

Unfortunately, I was always in the public eye. I'd played football for the University of Florida. Not only that, but I'd been the quarterback of the two-time BCS Championship Gator team. Everyone expected me to go pro, but I hadn't. I was going to take some time and determine if I really wanted to play football for a living. I never went anywhere without being questioned about my decision to not enter the draft. Could Sookie handle this?

"Sorry to bombard you, Eric, are you okay?" Sookie had, apparently, crawled into my lap to face me while I'd been lost in my own brain. She was now straddling my thighs, and I was definitely distracted by the way her skirt rose up her bare, tanned thighs. Not to mention the fact that I had an amazing view of her cleavage. I'd really missed that cleavage. Sophie was totally lacking in the chest department. What was I thinking? Well, none of that really mattered now. I had Sookie and we were going to figure this out if it killed us both.

"Eric. Earth to Eric. Eyes up here buddy."

"Sorry, momentary distraction. I haven't seen you in a long time and especially like this." Sookie blushed, but it wasn't the usual crimson she'd turned in high school. She'd definitely grown up since I'd last seen her.

"It's okay. I totally had to talk myself out of groping you inappropriately this morning." This was definitely a more mature Sookie.

"Talked yourself out of it, huh? You really shouldn't have. I'd never turn you down. Ever."

"I know that, Eric, but we have a lot to discuss, and we'll have plenty of time for all of that later."

"So, you're willing to walk into the media firing squad with me?"

"You bet your cute ass I am!" Just to place emphasis on the 'cute ass' remark she slid her hands down from where they'd been resting on my waist to pinch as much of my ass as she could grab.

"I love you, you know that right? We'll figure this out."

"I do and I love you too, but I kind of just want to hide for a while. How long do you think we can hide?" She'd leaned forward and placed her forehead on my shoulder. She smelled so good. Just like I remembered.

"We can't hide for long, but definitely long enough to figure out how to handle this."

"Do you have an agent or a publicist, Eric? Could they make a statement on our behalf?"

"That's a great idea, Sook, yes I do. I'll give Bobby a call this afternoon. We'll need to give him a draft of what we to release to the media."

"Well, lucky for you, your… wait, what am I?"

"I guess you're my girlfriend, as childish as that sounds. We'll leave it at girlfriend for now, but I'm hoping to call you something more permanent in the immediate future. I don't want to waste any more time, Sookie. You're mine. You've always been mine, and I want the world to know that as soon as possible."

Before I knew what was going on, Sookie attacked me with kisses. The kisses started out as sweet, innocent pecks on my cheeks, my forehead, my nose, the corners of my mouth, but they quickly turned heated. Very heated. Sookie's dress had ridden up around her waist, exposing a lacy red scrap of fabric I'm sure was supposed to be underwear. As soon as she saw me looking down she tried to right her dress, but I stopped her hands. Our foreheads were resting against each other's and we were both breathing hard. We were using a whole lot of restraint here, and I wasn't sure which one of us was going to give in to the lust first.

"I want you, Eric" Sookie breathed into my mouth.

"God, I want you too." I proceeded to close the distance between us, but Sookie chose that moment to lift her head and pull back to look at me.

"I need to know how many others there were. As hard as it is, I need to know. There was only one other person, Eric. I was engaged to him. I broke it off, but he was the only other one. How many, Eric?"

"Jesus, Sook. I don't know. I'm going to be honest with you, because we've never lied to each other and we sure as hell aren't going to start now. After we quit talking… I just… well, I slept my way through Florida. I was trying to fill the hole you left with sex, and it didn't work. I honestly don't know how many there were, but you have to know I was always careful. Sophie made me go through a battery of tests before the wedding. I'm clean."

"Thanks for not lying to me, I guess." Her eyes were searching my face and I could tell she was trying not to be overwhelmed with what I'd just told her. I could tell she was very conflicted about what she should do and how she should react.

"Are you… how does… are we? Shit, I don't know what to say." She hadn't moved from my lap, but I could tell she was disconnected. Her mind was running a mile a minute. I was surprised she hadn't started crying yet. High school Sookie had been a crier.

"I'm okay, Eric. I'm just really wishing we'd never broken up, ya' know? If we hadn't then it would have only been us. You and me. No one else. We wouldn't be having this conversation about others. I just hate it. I'm okay. I am. I just don't like it."

"I know. I feel the same way, but it is what it is. We can't change the past, but we do have a future, right?"

Sookie leaned her body into mine and scooted up so that her body was completely flush with mine. She wrapped her arms tightly around me and I reciprocated. We just sat there holding each other for god knows how long. It felt great.

"Hey Eric?"

"Yeah."

"As much as I'm enjoying this, you know what I'd really like?"

"Huh?"

"A shower. We're still in our wedding clothes and that feels all kinds of wrong. Shower with me?"

"Sookie… if I, if we… I won't be able to see you naked without being inside of you. It's been too long."

"I'm not going to stop you, Eric." With that she grabbed my hand and led me towards the bathroom. We stood at the sink together brushing our teeth, waiting for the water to warm and smiling at each other's reflections in the mirror like total idiots.

Once we were finished brushing our teeth, I moved to stand behind Sookie. She caught my eyes in the mirror and our expressions were both filled with heat. I pulled the hair off her neck and placed a gentle kiss above the tie that held her dress up. She shuddered, and I really wanted to just rip that sexy red dress from her body, but somehow restrained myself.

She moaned my name and I'd forgotten how much I loved that sound. She was beautiful like this.

I untied her dress and then moved my hands down to unzip the back. I slowly slid the zipper down and was rewarded with a view of the tiny straps of her red lacy underwear that perfectly outlined the beautiful round globes of her ass. I made eye-contact with her in the mirror as I pulled the halter top of her dress down, revealing those perfect breasts I loved so much. I was dying to touch her, but I decided to make her wait a little while longer. I knelt down behind her to slide the dress down her legs and then helped her step out of it. I remained kneeling as I turned her around to face me. She was standing before me in nothing but a tiny scrap of red lace that left nothing to the imagination. She looked down at me then and whispered, "Eric, you're overdressed."

I didn't give her time to undress me in the same fashion I'd just undressed her. I was ready to feel her. Enough of the slow seduction. My will-power was shot to hell with those three whispered words.

I stripped off the dress shirt, pants, socks, and boxers as fast as I could. When I looked at Sookie, she was staring at me like she'd never seen me naked before. "What?"

"God, you're huge. I'd forgotten. How could I forget? You're amazing. All of you."

I couldn't take it anymore. I closed the distance between us and pressed my lips to hers. I grabbed her head the way I knew she loved and slowly licked her bottom lip. She quickly opened her mouth to me and I dove in to taste her. It'd been so long and she still tasted the same. She tasted like Sookie. She tasted like she had the first time I kissed her all those years ago. _Mine_.

Without breaking the kiss, I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist and gripped my shoulders. I walked us into the shower and under the spray. We were now soaking wet and grinding against each other like the two teenagers we once were. My mind was flooded with all of the memories of us together this way. What we had was nothing short of amazing.

"Eric, I need you inside me. Now. I can't take it anymore. Please." Sookie lowered her legs and took her thong off and threw it out of the shower. For the first time I realized she was bare. She'd never been bare in high school and I couldn't have cared less, but now it was the sexiest thing I'd ever seen.

"Sookie, god, I have to taste you. I'm sorry." I dropped to my knees in front of her and ran just the tip of my tongue up and down the length of her slit. She was writhing with need. I backed her up against the wall, lifted one leg onto the side of the tub and then held her hips steady with one hand as I used my other hand to slowly push one finger into her.

"Eric! Please. Don't torture me. It's been too long, please." Sookie had never been one to beg, and this was definitely a huge turn on. I couldn't deny her.

I laved her inner lips with my tongue as I gently added another finger, curving the two fingers towards the front of her body to hit that spot that would push her over. When I could feel her inner walls rippling with the oncoming orgasm, I flicked my tongue quickly back and forth over her clit. She went over the edge screaming my name and it was the best sound I'd ever heard.

"God, you're amazing," she said, as she smiled down at me through weak blue eyes.

"You haven't seen anything yet."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

I turned her around to face the shower wall and grabbed her hands to put them above her head. I secured both of her hands in one of mine, keeping them pinned above her head. I nudged her feet open with mine and then entered her again with two fingers, then a few seconds later with three. She was so tight, and I knew I'd hurt her if she wasn't prepared.

Once I knew she was as ready as she could be I placed the tip of my cock at her entrance and slowly, inch by inch, slid home. I gave her time to adjust; but, not too long after I entered her she started rocking her hips against mine and I took that as my signal to move.

I kept my movements slow and deliberate. I didn't want our first time together again to be ruined by my lack of endurance. There was just something about her that made me want to come immediately. She just turned me on that much. No one else ever had.

"Eric. Faster. Please."

At her request, I increased my pace and it quickly became more than I could handle.

"Sookie, I can't… I'm gonna…"

"Come, Eric, come."

I thrust in and out of her a few more times and then with one last hard thrust I came deep inside of her. She came right along with me and the feeling of her rippling around my cock was exquisite torture. I released her hands and spun her around so I could kiss her.

"I love you, Eric."

"I love you, too. I've missed this. I've missed you. No one compares to you. No one ever will."

**So… what'd you think? Let me know. **

**Love,**

**K**


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